


Against All Odds

by EverAtYourSide



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Alternate Universe, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Human Experimentation, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Poor Prompto, Prompto Grows Up In Niflheim, Prompto Really Needs A Hug, Strangers to Friends to Lovers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-27
Updated: 2018-05-05
Packaged: 2018-12-07 14:46:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 13
Words: 92,570
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11625783
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EverAtYourSide/pseuds/EverAtYourSide
Summary: Noctis is not happy when his father informs him that they will be traveling to Niflheim to re-negotiate terms for a treaty between the two nations. Little does he know what secrets await him at the Empire's capital city, Gralea. While staying in the Emperor's palace, Noctis stumbles upon a discovery that will change the course of the rest of his life.This story takes place in an Alternate Universe where tensions between the two nations are considerably more amicable than in the main game, allowing the Lucian crown to make regular diplomatic trips back and forth from Lucis to Niflheim.





	1. What Lies Below

**Author's Note:**

> Um, hi. *Awkward wave* I have to say that it was been quite some time (at least 5 years give or take) since I have felt the drive to publish anything online. I used to post a lot of stuff on Fanfiction.net, but got busy with life and kind of fell out of it. I didn't really have a drive to write again until I finished playing FFXV. The absolute adorable-ness that is Promptis inspired me like nothing else has in such a long time, so I decided it was a good time to try and get back into the swing of things. :)

“I can’t believe my father is making me go all the way to Niflheim with him next week…” An eight-year-old Noctis groaned as he was being escorted back to his room by his royal adviser, another young man only a few years Noctis’s elder.

“You are the Crown Prince of Lucis, you will need to lead this nation one day, so the more exposure you get with how affairs are run, the more prepared you will be when it is time for you to take the throne.” Ignis suggested as he finished cleaning the lenses of his glasses before placing them back on his face.

“But it’s a whole DECADE before I can even think about ascending, Iggy.” Noctis reasoned. “I’m still just a kid and I never understand what they talk about at those big meetings anyway… it’s all just gibberish. Does me being there really matter that much?”

“It does to His Majesty, or he wouldn’t bring you along. Your father has his reasons and you should be proud that he wants to include you in such important matters.” Ignis stated. “Not only that, but you are the beacon that shows not only the kingdom of Lucis, but the entire world that our kingdom is strong and will continue to grow and prosper.”

Noctis just sighed and shrugged his shoulders. “I guess… but why of all places do I have to go to Niflheim? Isn’t that place really dangerous? Is this really the place where I should be making my grand debut as successor to the Lucian throne? Couldn’t we go someplace nicer, like Altissia or Tenebrae?”

The tall blonde paused for a moment, bringing his hands up to scratch his chin, wondering how best to reply to his young charge. “I agree it is quite a surprise that His Majesty would risk traveling all the way to Niflheim, as they can be… subversive to say the least. Putting those thoughts aside and seeing as we have been able to maintain a careful peace with their kingdom in the past, it is imperative that things stay that way. Having the King as well as the Crown Prince visit and be hosted by the Niflheim emperor extends a certain amount of trust and respect on our part that will hopefully be enough to maintain and even possible strengthen the peaceful relations between our two nations.”

“If you say so… but I still don’t like it. I’ve overheard stories between my father and Cor about Niflheim-”

“Those are simply old war stories and as long as we remain at peace with Niflheim, there is no reason to believe that anything like that will come to pass while you are there.” Ignis interjected as the two finally reached Noctis’s bedroom. “Clean yourself up and I will lay out a change of clothes for dinner, you don’t want to keep His Majesty waiting too long or your food will get cold.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Noctis muttered as he waved his adviser off and entered his bedroom. “Just make sure you don’t try and sneak anything onto my plate like you did last night or I’ll just have to start skipping dinner all together.”

“I wouldn’t dream of it, Your Highness.” Ignis laughed as he followed the young prince inside and laid out his clothes before heading down to the kitchens to prepare the young prince’s dinner.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

There was a small part of Noctis that was really hoping that his father might forget about the whole taking him to Niflheim to renegotiate the terms of their peace treaty, but he was pretty sure even if there was the slightest chance that his father might forget, Ignis would never allow that.

The only positive thing that Noctis could see in this whole ridiculous endeavor was the fact that he wouldn’t have to go to school during the entire duration of the trip. Not only was school super boring since he had already been tutored by the best royalty could buy, but no matter where he went, it seemed as though he was never left alone. Once other students saw him and realized who he was, all they seemed to want to do was to stand around and gawk at him. Students either bombarded him with questions about living in the palace or what it was like being the prince, or anything else that had to do with being royalty, it was tiresome to say the least. The worst part of all, was that Noctis knew that everyone wanted to be his friend only because of the fact that he was royalty. If he had just been a normal kid, he was sure that they wouldn’t have looked at him twice; and honestly Noctis would have preferred that any day of the week.

“Have you finished packing yet?” Ignis inquired as he entered the absolute mess that was Noctis’s room. There were clothes scattered everywhere, but there was a small suitcase that seemed to have a particular number of clothes thrown in it along with some of Noctis’s favorite books and video games to keep his attention during the long journey lying haphazardly on the large four poster bed. “The royal transport will be leaving within the hour.”

“Just about finished.” Noctis replied as he searched through a particularly large pile of clothes for his favorite jacket. He knew that Niflheim was infamous for its frigid temperatures and he wasn’t particularly fond of freezing to death before they even managed to get to the capital city, Gralea. While the young prince continued to throw unwanted clothes every-which way, Ignis proceeded over to the small suitcase and immediately began to neatly fold the clothes that were lying in a large, messy pile within. “What about you?” Noctis asked as he finally pulled the jacket that he had been searching for out from the very bottom (of course it was at the _very_ bottom…) of the pile that he had been searching through.

“Did his majesty not tell you?” Ignis replied as he continued straightening up the young prince’s suitcase.

“Tell me what?” Noctis asked, confused.

“As per request of the Niflheim Emperor, Iedolas Aldercapt, only those of royal blood are permitted to enter the Emperor’s palace. It was hard enough for Cor to get permission for himself and a handful of Crownsguard to accompany you and your father. It seems that Aldercapt is just as skittish as the stories say and he wants to make sure that there is no funny business while your father is renegotiating the terms of the treaty.”

“You can’t really be serious…” Noctis groaned.

“Unfortunately, I am completely serious.” Ignis confirmed, he really would have preferred to accompany the young prince to make sure that he was safe and that he behaved appropriately as a prince of the royal line of Lucis would, but if what he heard from Cor was true, then there was no way that he would be allowed within the palace grounds. Emperor Aldercapt had been very careful and meticulous with his restrictions about exactly who and how many people he would allow within his home, it was certainly odd, but Ignis was sure he had his reasons one way or another.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

If anything could be said about the Niflheim empire, Noctis would describe it as cold and miserable. That pretty accurately summed up his experience with the barren wasteland thus far. He knew that it was supposed to be cold, but this was ridiculous. How did these people survive with the weather like this ALL YEAR ROUND???

It wasn’t long before the Niflheim capital, Gralea was visible and Noctis wasn’t really sure what to expect, but as it finally came into view, it was rather… well... unimpressive. Certainly nothing comparable to the grand view of the Lucis capital, Insomnia. The buildings seemed to exude this very damp and depressing energy… as if the whole city was just waiting to be put out of its misery.

If Noctis thought things would improve once they finally entered the city limits, he was sorely mistaken. The whole place seemed like a ghost town, the streets and shops were empty and seemingly abandoned. There was barely even enough lighting to guide the royal caravan on its way through the city streets. At first, Noctis was convinced they had gotten lost and were in the wrong place, but after asking his father, Regis assured his son that this was indeed the Niflheim capital of Gralea.

“Where is everyone? I haven’t seen a single person since we entered the city…” Noctis questioned, a very uncomfortable feeling growing in the pit of his stomach. Ignis had told him that Niflheim was known for being a very industrial city and didn’t have the track record for the best quality of life, but what he was witnessing right now was far, far beyond anything he could have ever imagined.

“I believe that we arrived shortly after the imperial-mandated curfew, so the citizens of Gralea are not permitted to be outside of their homes until the curfew is lifted in the morning, or else they will surely be arrested by the local authorities.” Regis calmly explained to his son. “In Insomnia, we have the protection of the crystal, which prevents us from having to enact such drastic action on behalf of the safety of the citizens we protect. Niflheim lost their crystal long ago, and thus must take much harsher precautions if they wish to keep the people of Gralea safe.”

“I guess…” Noctis replied quietly. “It’s still hard to believe what I’m seeing… this place seems to be Insomnia’s opposite in just about every way I can think of.”

“It is indeed a drastic change, which is one of the reasons why I wanted you to accompany me on this journey. You must realize that not all kingdoms live and have the ability to govern in the same way. We are truly blessed to have all that we do in not just Insomnia, but all over the entire country of Lucis.” Regis paused before gripping both of his son’s much smaller hands tightly, staring straight into the young prince’s dark blue eyes. “Noctis my beloved son and heir, do not ever take what we have been given for granted. We must remain thankful every day for the gifts that the Six have so generously bestowed upon us.”

Noctis wasn’t sure why his father had decided to get so serious all of a sudden, but understood that it must be important, so he smiled and nodded before his father suddenly pulled him into a tight bear hug.

 _I will try my best to make you proud, Dad._ Noctis thought to himself as he sat back against the seat of his father’s personal transport and anxiously waited until they arrived at the Emperor’s palace wondering what would be there to await them once they arrived.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After the dankness and deplorable looking conditions within the city of Gralea, Noctis wasn’t really expecting all that much once they actually got to the Imperial Palace. For what seemed like the hundredth time today though, Noctis was completely and utterly shocked into disbelief. The palace itself was huge…! It rivaled even that of the Citadel back in Insomnia. Noctis couldn’t help but be consumed in thoughts of how breathtakingly beautiful the palace was as well; especially in contrast to that of the derelict and seemingly forgotten city that surrounded it.

Once they pulled up to the Palace’s entryway, Regis and Noctis were quickly escorted to the exquisitely designed and almost impossibly spacious suite that they would be occupying for the duration of their visit. Regis left almost immediately with Cor to meet with the Emperor for some preliminary discussions and thus Noctis had been told by the Marshal and his father to wait in their room until dinner. He was not under any circumstances to leave the room, not at least until Cor had a chance to put certain precautions into effect to ensure the young Lucian prince would not come to any harm while on his own.

Noctis was half-reading, half-sleeping when he was startled by the door to his room swinging open with an alarming amount of force. It was but a few moments later that the young prince settled himself back on the excessively large bed when he reasoned with himself that it must be either his Father, Cor, or one of the other Crownsguard that were in charge of protecting the Lucian royal family while in Niflheim. Who else would have any reason to come here to see him anyway?

“Bit scrawny for a prince, aren’t you?” An unfamiliar voice loudly laughed as Noctis was shocked once again back into reality by the sudden interruption.

“Wha-” Noctis spluttered as he tried to figure out who the mysterious looking stranger was that was staring at him, an unimpressed smirk plastered over his face. The stranger could only be a few inches taller than Noctis and couldn’t more than a year or two older than him with flowing chocolate brown hair and vibrant orange eyes that seemed as wild as an out of control brush fire. “Who are you?”

“I guess when you don’t have to do anything but sit around and play all day, you can’t expect to get any kind of muscles. It’s not like you softie Lucians have any real problems to worry about…” The boy continued on, completely ignoring young Lucian prince’s question.

“What the hell is your problem, huh?!? Who gives you the right to barge in here and start insulting me and my kingdom?” Noctis spat back as he practically jumped up off the bed to come nose to nose with this new and infuriating visitor. He was completely awake now and rather pissed off because a) he had been having a really good half-nap thing going on and b) no-one was going to sit in front of him and talk bad about his home unless they were asking to get punched in the face.

The young brunette’s eyes grew wide, caught off guard by the sudden exclamation from the raven-haired boy, looking as though he couldn’t believe that someone would have the gall to actually cut him off. “Since you obviously don’t know who it is that you are talking to, I’ll enlighten you. I happen to be the Crown Prince and heir to this great and powerful Niflheim Empire, Eldrith Aldercapt. I could very well have you thrown in the dungeon to rot away to nothing before you could even blink, so I would watch how you address me, little Lucian peasant.”

“Yeah, well I’m not sure how much _my_ father, Regis Lucis Caelum, King of Lucis, would like that. But you can go ahead and try and see what happens… if you’re not too scared. I’m sure you’ve noticed the handful of elite Crownsguard soldiers that are here as my personal guard to make sure no harm comes to me while I’m here? You so much as touch me and you’ll have to answer to them, and they won’t hesitate to take you out regardless of who your daddy is.” Noctis shot back. He wasn’t exactly sure why this kid hated him so much, but he certainly wasn’t about to be trodden all over by this idiot thinking he was hot stuff because his dad was supposedly the Niflheim Emperor.

“As if those losers could beat our elite MT guard…” The other boy scoffed as he stuck his nose up away from the brat of a Lucian Prince before him. He had to admit though, as much as he was annoyed by the dark-haired prince, he wasn’t nearly as much of a pushover as Eldrith had been expecting. He had heard stories about the young Lucian prince and how he was supposedly very frail and withdrawn from the public eye due to the chronic & prolonged heath issues that had been plaguing him since his infancy. He very rarely left the palace apart from going to school, but there were also reports of multiple instances where he wouldn’t show up to school for weeks at a time. Eldrith almost respected him for being so strong willed, even if it annoyed the shit out of him. Maybe, just maybe, this kid could be useful after all.

Eldrith composed himself, put on his most sincere looking smile and extended his hand out towards the raven-haired prince who was still refusing to break eye contact with him. “I still don’t like you or your prissy little kingdom, but I can respect your commitment to not back down. So why don’t we try this again…”

Noctis wasn’t sure what kind of game this guy was playing; he knew the kind of person this Eldrith character was and he certainly wasn’t one to change his tune so quickly just because some half-assed excuse like “he respected him.” However, if Noctis was being completely honest with himself, he was bored as all heck. It wasn’t like he was stupid enough to think that he and Eldrith would become friends and go off and hangout together or anything like that, but Noctis was actually moderately curious about what Eldrith’s endgame was. If anything, it had to be more exciting than just sitting around here waiting for his father to get back from all his meetings with the Emperor.

“Noctis Lucis Caelum, Crown Prince of Lucis.” Noctis extended his hand towards Eldrith’s already extended one, an equally deceptive smile upon his face as was on Eldrith’s, as the two boys shook hands.

“Eldrith Aldercapt, Crown Prince of Niflheim.” The boy replied as he refused to be the one to break the tenuous handshake. “Meet me here after dinner and I promise you we are going to have more fun tonight than you could ever possibly imagine.” The malevolent smile that quickly found its way onto the Niflheim prince’s face was unsettling to say the least. Noctis could swear that he felt a sharp chill run down his spine. As much as he was longing for something that didn’t involve sitting in this room and doing nothing, it was at that moment that Noctis was genuinely worried at what had suddenly gotten the other boy so riled up. However, despite the apprehension he felt, he sure as hell wasn’t going to back down, it wasn’t like they were going to be doing anything illegal, this Eldrith was the Crown Prince after all and Noctis was sure that even here in Niflheim, royalty must have certain expectations and limitations to what they could do while in the shadow of the palace.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dinner had been surprisingly uneventful after Noctis’s run in with the Niflheim Prince Eldrith earlier that afternoon. His father had been busy meeting with the Emperor until shortly before dinner was called, so he had pretty much gone back to napping and messing around with one of the video games that he had brought with him on the trip until Cor and his father came to fetch him for dinner. Noctis barely paid attention to the lavish feast, as he couldn’t stop thinking about what Eldrith could possibly have in store for him after dinner. Should he be worried?

As the dinner started to wind down, Noctis was definitely starting to get more concerned and starting to seriously debate if he should fake being sick and just call the whole thing off or not. It was probably just going to be something stupid, but he couldn’t help but wonder what would get someone like the Niff Prince so excited….

“…make sure that you don’t wander off….” Cor’s voice jolted Noctis back to reality as the older man was escorting Noctis back to his room. “The palace is very large and I don’t want you getting lost. You certainly don’t want to accidentally wander into someplace where you are not welcome.” Cor continued in a serious tone, halting the young prince and kneeling down so that he could look into the young prince’s eyes and make sure that Noctis knew he was being dead serious.

Noctis couldn’t help but let out a loud groan. “But Cor…” he whined, “What was the point of me even coming on this trip if all I’m allowed to do is sit in my room all day doing nothing??” he complained, to which Cor replied by placing a comforting hand on the pouting prince’s head and ruffling his short, dark hair.

“Your presence is what is important, not necessarily the actions that you take while you are here. The fact that His Majesty has brought his son, the Crown Prince of Lucis to Gralea is a very important matter. It shows Niflheim not only that we trust them enough to safeguard our royal family, but it also shows them that the line of Lucis is strong and will continue to endure even after His Majesty has lost the strength to lead it himself.” The young prince nodded, although he still was not all together thrilled with the revelation even though he did see Cor’s point.

“I guess….” Noctis sighed. “But it still sucks that I’m confined to that stupid room all day while you and my dad are busy meeting with the emperor…” Ignis had told him that they were only supposed to stay in Niflheim for a week, but it was only the first day and he was already bored out of his mind. There were only so many times he could replay the video games that he had brought or read the books that Ignis had given him before he felt like he was losing his mind. He was still a kid after all, and one specific thing could only hold his attention for so long.

“Unfortunately, that cannot be helped, Your Highness.” Cor noted solemnly as he stood back up and the two Lucians continued their journey down the long corridor towards the guest suite that he and his father were staying in. “There are many things that even the prince of Lucis is not privy to… but I will talk to his Majesty to see if there anything that you can do to help in the meanwhile.”

The two were just about back to the suite when a young man suddenly blocked their path and appeared before them as though he had simply melted out of the shadows.

“Good Evening, _honored_ guests of Lucis…” Noctis instantly recognized the voice as the one that had ambushed him in said suite earlier in the day.

“Good evening.” Cor replied as he bowed in respect. “Prince Eldrith, I presume?”

The boy grinned and bowed back with such genuine respect, Noctis was almost taken aback. If he hadn’t had the earlier encounter with the prince, he would have almost believed his act.

“I’m honored that you know who I am, you who has seemingly cheated death countless times and come out on top, the legendary, Cor the Immortal.” Eldrith grinned as he quickly closed the distance between himself and the two Lucians.

Cor nodded, unfazed by the supposed adoration and respect brimming from the young prince in front of him. “The pleasure is all mine, I assure you. We are here because of the graciousness of your father, Emperor of Niflheim.”

Noctis was wondering why Eldrith was being so cordial right now… was it just because Cor was here…? He certainly hadn’t hesitated in letting Noctis know how he felt about Lucis when they had met earlier. Noctis just really couldn’t figure this kid out and before he could say or do anything, Eldrith started speaking once again.

“Is that Prince Noctis of Lucis behind you? I was excited to hear from my father that both the King and Crown Prince of Lucis would be gracing us with their presence this week. It gets awfully lonely in this big palace and I was hoping that we could meet and maybe even become friends….” Eldrith was certainly laying the innocent prince act on pretty thick and Noctis sincerely hoped that Cor wasn’t stupid enough to fall for it, it was almost painful for him to watch.

“Yes, I have to assist His Majesty, King Regis, with some important matters before he retires for the night, so I was just escorting the young prince to make sure he got back to his room safely.”

“I can show him the rest of the way, Sir…!” Eldrith quickly interjected. “I live here after all and know the palace like the back of my hand. There’s no possible way we could get lost and then you can do what you need to do quicker, it’s a win-win situation…” The brunette prince shrugged as he grinned.

Cor was silent and hesitant as he stood before the Niflheim prince. He knew that he should just finish escorting Noctis the rest of the way to his room, but they were only like two hallways away from his door. Cor glanced in Noctis’s direction, trying to read what his young charge was thinking. “It’s up to you, Your Highness.”

Noctis shrugged and without any kind of reply, continued walking along the route that would take him back to his temporary room and without so much as a confirmation Eldrith followed after him. Cor made sure to shadow the two boys until they made it to the hallway where Noctis’s room was located before he headed off to go wrap things up for the night with King Regis.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Wow, I thought he’d never leave…” Eldrith groaned as he opened the large door and stuck his head out into the hallway just long enough to confirm that the older Lucian that had be escorting Noctis had indeed left. “You ready for the real fun to start, your princely-ness??”

 _What the hell… if I don’t see this thing for myself, I’m going to drive myself crazy just thinking about it…_ Noctis thought to himself before nodding.

“Follow me and stay quiet. Do exactly what I do or we’ll get caught and you’ll be sorry.” The taller prince ordered, which only heightened Noctis’s suspicions.

“Where in the world are we going??” Noctis asked. If they were going to be avoiding guards, then they probably weren’t supposed to be going to wherever it was that they were going….

“Someplace that is a very well-kept secret, only known by the royal family and my father’s closest confidants. That’s why we need to be careful. Outsiders aren’t really _supposed_ to see it, but what’s the fun in that? Just make sure you don’t tell anyone about it. If my dad finds out he’ll lock both of us up and I can tell you, you don’t want to be thrown into a Niflheim prison… he won’t care one bit about our positions as Princes.”

Now Noctis had a REALLY bad feeling about whatever it was that they were going to go see, but he couldn’t stop himself, he was in too deep and much too curious to back out now. The raven-haired prince nodded in agreement before Eldrith disappeared outside the door and Noctis followed right along behind him.

Noctis had been following Eldrith for the past fifteen minutes and it seemed like all they were doing was just walking in circles. Right when he was about to tell Eldrith off for leading him on some stupid wild goose chase, they suddenly found themselves in the middle of what looked like a large throne room. It looked completely abandoned and honestly… just looking at the poor state of the room, it looked like it hadn’t been used or eve cleaned in at least a few years. There were cobwebs everywhere and so much dust that Noctis worried that he might cause a small dust storm if he accidentally sneezed. Was this the secret that Eldrith had been bragging to him about…? A secret throne room or something like that? It was cool that was for sure, but the throne room in back in Lucis was much more expansive, elegant and inviting.

“Bet you’re wondering if this is what we came here for aren’t you…?” Eldrith’s smug voice quickly broke the silence. “But you haven’t seen anything yet…” Eldrith disappeared behind the throne for just an instant before Noctis heard a slight click and something that looked vaguely like a trap door popped up just enough so that the young Niflheim prince was able to grip it and push it aside to reveal a ladder that seemed to lead deep underground. “You coming…? Just make sure to put the trap door back once you get through.” Eldrith smirked again as he quickly disappeared into the darkness below.

Noctis took a deep breath and started descending the ladder after the Niflheim prince, making sure that the trap door swung back in place to once again hide its presence from anyone who didn’t already know it was there.

When the two boys finally got to the bottom of the ladder they seemed to have entered some kind of old fashioned stone dungeon. Noctis’s heart started beating faster and faster as he feared that he might have just full on walked into a trap. If Eldrith wanted to silently get him out of the picture, this would be the place to do it; chains lined the walls and there were countless cells carved into either side of the corridor they were currently walking down. As tempting though as that was to believe, Noctis knew that if Eldrith wanted to actually do something bad to him, he had already had plenty of opportunities to do so… so no, it had to be something else. Noctis was consumed by the thoughts racing around in his head that he didn’t even notice when Eldrith stopped walking and he very nearly almost walked right into the larger Prince.

“And here we are….” Eldrith smiled, a look of longing on his face that Noctis couldn’t quite understand.

Noctis was about to ask what was so special about some random empty cell when he took another step closer and realized that this particular cell wasn’t as empty as he had first thought.

Curled up in the far corner was something so still that Noctis had initially thought it was just a pile of old rags. But after continuing to look at it a bit closer, the young Lucian prince had noticed something strange… the pile of rags was breathing. It was very slow and soft, but nevertheless it was surely breathing. It was alive… and not just alive, but a kid not unlike himself. Judging by his small size and stature, he couldn’t possibly be but a year or two older than himself if not the same age as himself, and Noctis was only eight years old for six sake…!

“What in the-” Noctis breathed out unable of how to process what his eyes were telling him, which surely had to be the truth.

“Hey, blondie…! Get your ass over here, I have someone I want you to meet!” Eldrith shouted at the still form leaning against the back wall. The figure didn’t respond, either because they hadn’t heard or had heard and had chosen to ignore the call from the prince on the other side of the bars. Obviously, Eldrith didn’t take too well to being ignored, so he proceeded to slam his fist against the cell bars as hard as he could, his voice loud and demanding.

“I know you can hear me you little shit, get over here before I come in there and drag you out here myself.” There was still no movement from the blonde figure and by now, Eldrith was absolutely fuming. Seemingly having had enough, the young Niff prince dug an old rusty key out of his pocket and started fiddling with the lock on the bars before a small click could be heard and Eldrith slammed the door open and stormed angrily inside the cell.

Noctis was in absolute shock as he witnessed this scene folding out in front of him. Out of all the things he had thought Eldrith wanted to show him, he never in a million years would have thought that it would lead to something like this…

Noctis was quickly shaken out of his reverie as Eldrith advanced on the young boy in the rags and something about Eldrith actually coming in after him, seemed to shock the boy’s body back to life as he desperately started scrambling away from invading prince and fighting him with all his strength, which was nothing when compared with Eldrith’s. There wasn’t really anywhere for the other boy to run though, so Eldrith was able to quickly corner and grab him by his dirty blonde hair and started dragging him back towards where Noctis was still standing frozen to the spot right outside the iron cell.

“Shut up and stop fighting me, you piece of shit.” Eldrith warned the boy whose hair he was still tightly gripping once the boy started moaning and struggling. Eldrith ignored the boy’s quiet pleas before turning back to face Noctis. “I remember you mentioning about how bored you were just sitting in your room, and since I wanted to be a good host I thought I’d share with you my secret to blowing off steam and having some fun while you were here.”

“…”

“Don’t be shy, it doesn’t mind. You can do whatever the hell you want to it and no-one will care. It lives for these small periods of human contact as it lives out the rest of its miserable life rotting away in this cell.” Eldrith laughed. “I’ve had the chance recently to get really creative recently and damn I have never felt better.” Although as quickly as the laugh came, it was gone and there was a distinct look of annoyance on the Prince’s face as he continued. “Unfortunately, my father has since become aware of my more _recent_ actions and I was banned from relieving my stress in such ways… for now at least. So I thought that just because _I_ can’t have my fun with it, that doesn’t mean you can’t. Feel free to go crazy in my place.” The prince now smiling again as he continued to keep a strong grip on the struggling boy beneath him.

Noctis knew that he should say something, do something… but he was frozen. There were so many questions that were running through his head and he couldn’t think straight. Ignis had warned him to be very careful in Niflheim because the empire had a reputation to be… well, unsavory; but this… how did he get himself smack in the middle of something like this??

“I…” Noctis breathed. “I don’t… you… wha-”

“What the hell are you waiting for?” Eldrith grunted as he continued to drag the blonde closer and closer until Noctis could practically reach out and touch his filthy blonde hair. “I thought you said that you were bored?! Here I am giving you access to my _personal_ fail-proof way to entertain yourself and you’re just standing there like a damned pansy, pampered little Lucian…!”

“Hey…! I’m not-”     

“Then stop standing there like a dumbass and _DO something!_ ”

“No!” Noctis finally managed to yell, loud and clear. “I would never think about taking on my frustrations on an innocent person!”

“Well aren’t you just little Mr. Prince Charming….” Eldrith spat as he looked Noctis up and down with a look that was a mix of disgust and amusement. “I thought you might actually be worth something, but I guess I was wrong about you, little Lucian loser. Well, if you’re not going to take advantage of it, then I certainly will. I sure as hell didn’t come all the way here just for the company, my father be damned.”

Before Noctis could even ask what he had planned to do, Eldrith had dropped the young boy that he had been holding and quickly started delivering strong short kicks to the blonde’s midsection. He continued harshly beating on the boy, seemingly getting more and more fired up the longer he went and Noctis could do nothing but stand there and watch in abject horror. Every fiber of his being wanted to put a stop to it, but he couldn’t seem to make his muscles work and judging by what he saw here, there was no way that Noctis would be able to overpower the other prince even if he wanted to… all he could do was sit and wait until it was all over and hope that this horrible scene wasn’t completely 100% burned into his memory for the rest of his life.


	2. Unfinished Business

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my gosh, I just wanted to take a second to thank everyone for all the comments and kudos on the first chapter! I'm really glad that people are liking the fic so far, and believe me... things are just getting started!

Noctis had never been so happy to get back to that damn guest suite since he arrived in Gralea. It had seemed like Eldrith was never going to stop beating on the kid and Noctis wasted no time running out of the dungeon and back to his room as soon as he possibly could. He tried to busy himself with something, anything to get his mind off the scene that he just witnessed. Unfortunately, no matter how many times he tried to distract himself by playing his video games, reading through his books, or even watching one of his favorite movies; none of it worked. He just couldn’t seem to get that blonde boy’s face out of his mind. He had had such a defeated look on his face as though the fight had been slowly drained out of him. Worst of all, when he did try to struggle, Noctis could practically feel the boy's desperation as though he were drowning in it. What could have possibly happened to bring the Niffs to a point where they felt as though they needed to lock up this boy that couldn’t possibly have been much older than him, if at all.

From the moment he got back into his room, the first thing Noctis wanted to do was to tell either his father or Cor about everything that had happened. The only wrinkle in that plan being that before they parted ways, Eldrith had threatened to tell the Emperor that Noctis himself had been beating on the kid if he was stupid enough to get the idea of blabbing to anyone about what happened. Noctis was pretty sure that the other prince was bluffing, but after what he saw today, he just couldn’t afford to risk it and thus decided that it would be best to keep everything to himself and try to just forget about what he had seen.

Compared to the first night, the next few days passed by very uneventfully. As it turned out, Cor had actually managed to get the young Lucian prince invited to one of the smaller meetings for the negotiations of the new peace treaty. At first, Noctis hadn’t been all that interested in going, but at this point he was pretty shamelessly trying to avoid the Niflheim prince. If there was one place Eldrith wouldn’t be able to taunt him though, it was during an official negotiation between the two leaders, if he was there at all.

In the end, the meeting surprisingly turned out to be moderately interesting. The two monarchs had been in the midst of discussing opening official trade routes between the two nations, which involved both sides trying to map out what the easiest method and route(s) would be in order to transport the goods from Niflheim to Lucis and vice versa.

Despite everything, no matter what he did, Noctis’s mind continued to wander towards the young blonde boy that was hidden underneath the deserted throne room. He was ruthlessly haunted and ashamed by the fact that he had simply stood there and done nothing as the boy had gotten the shit beaten out of him. He had wanted to do something to help, he really did… but his entire body had completely frozen, ignoring any and all commands that his brain had been screaming at it to do.

Never in Noctis’s worst nightmares would he think that the Empire would condone behavior like that, and yet there it had been, clear as day. The guilt that had seemed to permanently settle in his stomach ever since that night was eating him alive and he couldn’t even talk to his father or Cor about why he had been so distracted the past few days. It was getting to the point that if he left Gralea before doing anything about it, he doubted that he would ever be able to get over it. Unable to ignore the building dread and guilt any longer, Noctis made a silent promise to himself. He needed at least some small semblance of closure; and he was going to have to get it before his father, Cor, and the small group of Crownsguard and himself left to start their long journey back to Lucis the following morning.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It had been a bit of a challenge trying to find his way back to the old throne room that Eldrith had taken him to earlier in the week. There were quite a few twists and turns and Noctis did his best to make sure he didn’t accidentally run into any of the MTs that were regularly patrolling around the palace. Luckily, he had been very curious as to what they had been doing at the time and thus he had been paying pretty good attention to where Eldrith had been walking and it wasn’t long before he found himself in front of the room with all of the old adornments and the empty throne right smack in the middle.

“There must have been some sort of switch or lever that he pulled in order to unlock the trap door…” Noctis muttered to himself as he explored all the nooks and crannies on the old throne. It took a few minutes of crawling around and examining practically every square inch of the throne before he managed to actually find the hidden lever. Once he pulled it, the trapdoor unlocked itself just as it had done earlier in the week and Noctis proceeded with the uneasy climb back down into the cold, dark cellblock that he had definitely been having nightmares about practically every night that week. He walked and walked and walked and _continued_ walking until he finally arrived at that last, lonely little cell on the end.

“H-Hello…?” Noctis asked in a very unsure tone, his voice was so soft that he almost didn’t even hear it himself, so he would have been astounded if the other boy had. He walked closer to the bars, looking for any signs that the boy from before was still alive and inside the cell, but there was nothing but silence that greeted him back. “Sorry about a few days ago…” he said a little louder and little bit more confident this time.

Nothing.

Noctis tried a few more times with no luck and was just about ready to give up and go back up when his eyes finally found the familiar lump of old and very dirty looking rags in the back-corner opposite from where he had been earlier in the week. He had only noticed him because his thin shoulders started shaking ever so slightly, but Noctis couldn’t tell if he was laughing or crying, or his muscles were just twitching involuntarily.

“Hey, are you mute or something? I noticed that you didn’t say anything to Eldrith either, even when he was you know…” Noctis trailed off, honestly wondering why he was even bothering. He had come down and done what he had set out to do… he had apologized for not helping the boy before. In theory, he should just be able to leave and move on with his life already, right? So why… why was he so intent on trying to get this other boy to talk to him?

“Who are you? Why are you down here?” Noctis asked, the words leaving his mouth before he had a chance to stop them. The young Lucian prince waited for a reply, but as expected was greeted once again with nothing but silence. Confused and conflicted, Noctis turned so that his back was now facing the cell bars and allowed his back to slowly slide down the hard iron bars behind him until he was sitting on the ground with his knees pulled up to his chest.

A few more minutes passed by while Noctis continued to sit silently against the bars, thinking about what he could say or do that would get the boy on the other side of the bars to talk, move or really do _anything_. It was silly, but Noctis couldn’t seem to tear himself away and leave, despite his glaring failure in trying to get any kind of response from the mysterious boy.

“How long have you been in here?” He tried once more with no more success than any of his previous attempts.

“Why won’t you talk to me?!” Noctis practically shouted. He couldn’t help but let the innocent question fall from his lips, and quite a bit more forcefully than he had really intended. Regardless of whether he had meant to do it, his ears pricked as he could just barely make out the sound of gentle shuffling as though the boy in the cell was shifting positions. As Noctis turned to face him, he noted that he was now pressed even further into the corner than he had been leaning against previously. _Great going Noct… you yelled at him and he probably thinks that you’re going to hurt him just like Eldrith…_ he thought to himself, frustrated that this encounter was not going at all the way he had hoped it would. In fact, he just seemed to be making matters worse no matter what he did.

 “I’m sorry I yelled at you. I was just really hoping that we could talk…” Noctis admitted sadly as he turned back around, knowing that he had probably blown any chance that he might have had getting the kid to talk to him at this point. He would never admit it, but in a way he had kind of been hoping that he could help the mysterious boy somehow… maybe by talking to him, or just by being there and not wishing any ill will upon him. Of course, he should have known that it would never be as easy as that. Noctis sighed as he laid his head back against the bars, trying to think of any way that he could possibly redeem himself. If past experience was any indicator though, things were not looking good. Eventually, Noctis just settled for continuing to do what he was doing and simply sat there, not saying anything because words had been working so spectacularly for him already. He didn’t have anything to do or anywhere to be until much later that day when he was supposed to be meeting up with his father for dinner, so he honestly didn’t mind just sitting here for a bit.

The young prince sat in silence, thinking about everything that had happened this week and honestly, he felt like he couldn’t get back to Insomnia soon enough. Things here in Niflheim were so drastically different from life in the Crown City. Sometimes he felt as though they must have traveled through some sort of wormhole at some point during their journey and they ended up on a different planet all together.

Noctis soon realized he hadn’t brought anything with him that told him the time and although he felt as though he had been sitting in the same position for quite a while, he had no idea how much time had actually elapsed since he first arrived. He was considering heading back to his room when he was suddenly caught off guard by a soft voice that could only have originated from the cell behind his back.

“… what are you doing…?”

Noctis’s head spun around so quickly that he hoped he hadn’t given himself whiplash. Had he actually heard that correctly?? Had the blonde boy in the cell actually said something?? And directed it at him no less??

“W-What…?” Noctis stammered, partly due to confusion, but mostly due to the sheer surprise that the boy had finally said something after who knew how long it had been that he had been sitting there.

“… what are you waiting for…?” the soft voice uttered once again, confusion clearly written in his hushed voice.

“Uh, nothing really…” Noctis mumbled once again, trying to think of how to explain his decisions while also trying to even out his breathing to mask his excitement so as not to alarm the boy who for no apparent reason had finally decided to start talking to him.

“… you were here with Eldrith…” The boy murmured and Noctis felt as though his heart had just dropped out of his chest. “…finally come back to finish what he started…?” the blonde finished in a low and resigned voice.

“N-No…!” Noctis couldn’t help but exclaim, which unsurprisingly caused the young man within the cell to jump slightly. “I just… I… I wanted…” He muttered yet again before letting out a frustrated groan. Why couldn’t he just say what he wanted to say??? He just couldn’t figure out why his brain refused to make a coherent sentence to save his life right now. There were so many things that he wanted to say, but none of the words seemed to be able to make the journey between his brain and his mouth.

“I’M SORRY!” Noctis shouted in pure frustration. “I wanted to help you, I wanted to stop Eldrith, but I couldn’t do it! I was so shocked by what was happening that I couldn’t make my body move and then I was too ashamed to stay because of it! I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it this entire week and I… I just wanted to come down and tell you that I was sorry…” By this time, large pearly tears had started building up in the ducts of the young prince’s eyes and he knew that it was just a matter of time before they would start freely rolling down his cheeks.

This time it was the blonde boy’s turn to freeze, but it wasn’t due to fear as Noctis had worried it would be. He was simply stunned by this sudden outburst, not to mention very lost and confused. Not one person that had come to his cell since he had been thrown down here had ever seemed to care one iota about his situation or tried to do anything to help him apart from just barely keeping him alive. Yet this random dark-haired foreigner that he had never seen or met before was outwardly concerned and even crying for his sake… it was something that was almost impossible for the blonde to understand.

The blonde boy wanted to say something, but he had no idea what to say or do in response to the raven-haired youth’s outburst. He knew all different kinds of ways to deal with the guards that taunted him, he sort-of knew how to deal with Eldrith who pretty frequently used him as a punching bag (and sometimes worse…), but to a person who meant him no harm… he was at a complete and utter loss.

“You have nothing to be sorry for…” The boy almost whispered back, clearly unsure of whether his words were sufficient enough to calm the almost hysterical boy on the other side of his cell.

Hearing the blonde’s words of meek assurance, Noctis was actually able to calm down significantly, with only the occasional sniffle as he wiped the still wet tear streaks that ran down his face with the hem of his plain black t-shirt.

“I really am sorry… and I really did just want to talk with you, I promise.” Noctis continued in a soft voice.

“I’m sorry too.” the blonde replied, “It’s just hard to believe something like that when you’ve grown up in a place like this, especially if you’re thrown in a Niflheim dungeon to rot… no-one gives a shit about you and people who have come to visit me have only ever wanted to cause me pain in one form or another…”

“Well, maybe I can change that?” Noctis smiled as he held out his small hand beyond the bars so that the blonde would be able to shake it. “My name is Noctis, but you can just call me Noct. What’s your name?” The young prince had considered telling the other boy his full name, but he was sure that would just cause more unnecessary confusion and he had finally gotten the blonde to talk to him… if he found out that Noctis was Lucian royalty that would definitely complicate things.

The blonde seemed deep in thought at this, his face grimacing as he continued to consider something. “My name is… Prompto… yeah, that’s right; definitely Prompto. It’s been so long since anyone has asked for my name instead of my code number that I almost forgot…”

“Your code number? What do you mean…?” Noctis asked, flabbergasted that anyone could go so far as to almost forget their own name.

“It’s a long story…” Prompto answered sadly.

“Does it have anything to do with why you were locked away down here?” Noctis questioned, curious, but also a little scared about what the story might actually entail. It obviously wouldn’t be very happy if it ended with him being thrown away into this ultra-secluded and top-secret prison cell.

“Well, yes… and no…” The blonde hesitated.

 “That’s not a helpful answer.” Noctis groaned as he rested his forehead against the cold iron bars.

“Like I said… it’s a long story…” Prompto once again insisted.

“I guess it’s a good thing that I don’t have anywhere that I need to be until dinner tonight.” The prince playfully replied. He knew that he was probably prying more than he should be, but for some reason he just couldn’t tear his face away from this boy, Prompto. He seemed so normal, so innocent… what reason could the Niflheim empire have for locking him away at such a young age and basically treating him as if he didn’t even exist?

It was then that Noctis heard something that he had never in a million years expected to hear, it sounded almost like a quiet wheezing, but Noctis was pretty sure that Prompto was almost laughing and that just made the smile on his face grow even larger knowing that it was probably the first time that the blonde had genuinely laughed for however long it had been since he had been imprisoned.

Prompto looked once more at the smiling face of the raven-haired boy, before taking a deep breath. “I’ll spare you the details of growing up here in Niflheim… you can probably imagine just from your time here what it was like. Believe it or not, my father is actually the leading Magitek Engineer for Niflheim and works directly under the Emperor-”

“What??? Your dad is umm…  wait… I know this… Verstael Besithia, right??” Noctis asked in surprise, unintentionally cutting off the blonde’s story. The only reason that he actually knew of the man’s name was because Ignis had insisted on educating him on all of the important Niflheim officials before he had left on the trip with his dad. _A prince should always be prepared and should always know his closest allies as well as potential enemies…_ Ignis’s voice resounding clearly in his brain. “With such a high standing with the Emperor, surely he could get you released from here…?”

Prompto replied to that statement in the only way he could, by laughing the idea off coldly. “Verstael was and will never be the fathering type… all he cares about is advancing his research. In fact, he was the one who happily volunteered me for the process of being manufactured into a Magitek Trooper when I was just a baby… or at least that’s what I was told.”

“…”

Noctis was once again stunned into silence. It was bad enough that a father would gladly give up their own child, but what Prompto had just said about Magitek Troopers… that couldn’t be right… they were robots… just mechanized robots with nothing inside but wires and gears… weren’t they??

“MTs… t-t-they’re just robots… j-just robots though right…?” He muttered almost silently, however it was apparently just loud enough for Prompto to hear as he replied just a moment later.

“If MTs are just soulless robots, then what did I spend the first few years of my life training for?” Prompto stated coldly. “Why did I lose countless friends over the years because they weren’t exactly what Verstael was looking for in an MT and thus were useless and unecessary? In fact, I was almost discarded and thrown away with the other rejects because I didn’t perfectly fit the mold that he was looking for. It didn’t matter for one second that I was his flesh and blood… he was ready to be done with me since I had outlived my usefulness.”

The bitterness in the blonde’s voice was so pungent that Noctis could feel the tears prickling at the edge of his eyes once more, just thinking about if he had been in Prompto’s situation. He couldn’t even imagine a world without his father being there to protect and support him through everything that he did.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to accuse you of lying.. I just… I just can’t believe that Niflheim would be so cruel as to do something like that…” Noctis quickly apologized. “If anyone even suggested such as thing in Insomnia, they would instantly be arrested for treason against the state for wishing something so despicable on its own citizens…”

“If you’re from Insomnia, then that must mean you’re a Lucian…?” Prompto asked quickly getting sidetracked from the painful memories that had been surfacing and replaying in his brain. Noctis silently nodded and Prompto couldn’t help but continue. “I haven’t heard much about it, and unsurprisingly, people here in Niflheim aren’t the biggest fans of Lucians… but from what I learned with the little MT training that I did complete, it kind of sounded like paradise to me, especially compared to this place…” There was a longing in the blonde’s voice that didn’t go unnoticed by Noctis and that only strengthened boy’s desire to somehow help the boy, but he knew that that would be impossible. He was the _Lucian_ prince, not a Niflheim prince and thus he had no power here… not to mention he was only eight years old…

“I don’t know about paradise,” Noctis couldn’t help but chuckle but quickly continued, “But I can tell you for a fact that Insomnia is WAY different than the Niflheim capital, Gralea. It almost seems like a completely different world here.”

“Anyway…” Prompto continued as he shook his head, as though just thinking about the wonders of Lucis was far too painful and refocused back on the issue at hand. “I remember the day they called my number for decommissioning… it was terrifying and yet oddly calming. I was terrified of being discarded and left to die, but part of me also thought that this might be a somehow kinder fate than being manufactured into a fully mechanized Magitek Trooper, forced to fight until I met my meaningless end on some deserted battleground somewhere. However, before they were able to carry the process out, it was interrupted by my bastard of a father, Verstael, telling them that they couldn’t kill me.”

“That’s good isn’t it…?” Noctis asked. “Your father must have had some part of him that wouldn’t allow his son to be killed in cold blood, right?”

Another uncharacteristically, mirthless laugh from the far too skinny blonde. “That’s what I had thought too, but I soon found out that it had nothing to do with the fact that I was his son…”

Noctis’s face fell as he heard those words and shuddered to think of the real reason Prompto’s father would have saved him.

“Turns out he had gotten a hold of a spy from Tenebrae and after torturing them with his own _special_ methods, he managed to get them to reveal that the Oracle had recently spoken of a prophecy. A prophecy which warned of the destruction of Niflheim. It spoke of a figure known only as the “Ascendant Dawn.” The Ascendant Dawn is said to supposedly be able to channel the will of the six, even rumored to have some sort of connection with Eos herself, but that’s not all. It also talks about how the Ascendant Dawn’s power is said to remain forever locked away until they have been able to reconnect with the Key of Awakening. Unfortunately, or maybe fortunately, the prophecy itself isn’t very specific about where to look for this “key” or even what form it may take. Is it a long, lost artifact passed down by one of the six? Is it a special place that was lost to the Dawn long ago? I can only assume that Verstael has been unable to figure it out because I doubt I would still be here if he had. It was ultimately revealed that once the Ascendant Dawn is able to reconnect with the key, they will proceed to unleash the divine judgement of the Six upon the Empire of Niflheim.”

“And this “Ascendant Dawn” is you…?” Noctis finished as the blonde nodded solemnly.

“I’m not sure exactly how they determined it was me… I wasn’t aware of it then, and I’m not even all that convinced of it now to be honest… I’ve certainly never been anything special.” Prompto’s attention now focused on his bare feet, since he no longer felt as though he would be able to look Noct in the eyes.

“Not to be mean, but if they were so worried about you and this whole prophecy thing, why did your dad stop them from killing you in the first place? Seems like that would be the easiest way to take care of their problem. You can’t really do anything to them if you dead….” Noctis wondered out loud. He hoped that Prompto didn’t take the comment personally, but was genuinely confused as to why the empire would put in so much effort to keep alive the one person that seemed to stand a chance of toppling everything that they had built up over many long generations.

“Yeah, well therein lies the next problem. Also, according to the Tenebrae spy, if anything should happen to the Ascendant Dawn before they have fulfilled their purpose, it is said that they will simply be reincarnated and born anew, again and again until they are able to complete their ultimate duty. So even if they did kill me, as this supposed Ascendant Dawn, I would allegedly just be reborn somewhere else on Eos. Not to mention, there’s no telling how long it would take Niflheim to relocate the new reincarnation. If they keep me imprisoned here and hidden away from everything and everyone, they don’t have to worry about me finding this “key” and thus feel as though they are able to prevent the realization of the prophecy until they can figure out a way to negate it.” Prompto finished his story and just sat frozen where he was while he waited for Noct to react to everything that he had just told him.

“Wow… that’s uh, one …crazy story.” Noctis finally noted after a minute or two of trying to process everything he had just been told. “So… you’re just supposed to live out the rest of your life in this tiny cell…? That’s… horrible.” he muttered.

“Yeah, well it’s not like there is anyone around to make a fuss about it. Only a handful of the highest ranked Niflheim officers even know I exist, and they sure as hell aren’t going to do anything-”

“That doesn’t make what they’re doing right!” Noctis shouted in frustration at the futility of the situation that he found himself in. There HAD to be something that he could do… he had just met Prompto, but he already knew just by talking with him, that the blonde boy sitting before him didn’t deserve this, not one bit of it. “Maybe… just maybe… I can’t promise anything, but I could try and talk to my father and see if there is anything at all that we could do to help…. I know that he’ll probably tell me there is nothing to be done, but I can’t just sit by and do nothing….” The raven-haired boy moaned.

Prompto let out another wheezing laugh, “I really do appreciate your concern, Noct… but I can assure you that nothing short of the Emperor of Niflheim would be able to help me right now.” His shoulders drooped as he repositioned himself yet again so this time he was directly facing the raven-haired boy before him.

Noctis stilled for a moment, wondering whether or not to open this particular bag of worms and then realized that there didn’t really seem to be any reason to keep who he was a mystery any longer. After all, Prompto had told him all about himself and his situation, so why shouldn’t he reciprocate? He just hoped that Prompto would still continue to talk to him after he found out. “I don’t know about the Niflheim Emperor, but what about the King of Lucis? He is my father after all and I feel as though that might be a close second.” Noctis finished as he let out a nervous laugh.

“King… of… Lucis…? You… you mean to say that… Regis Lucis Caelum… is your …FATHER…?!?” Prompto gasped and couldn’t help but shutter at the thought that the boy he had been talking to was actually royalty… not to mention _Lucian_ royalty. Now that Prompto thought about it, Noct had mentioned earlier that he lived in Insomnia and Prompto was pretty sure that Noct hadn’t just randomly snuck into the Emperor’s palace seeing as it was pretty much flat out impossible to get in unless you had some seriously crazy connections.

“Yeah… sorry I didn’t fully introduce myself earlier..” Noctis let out another nervous chuckle as he started scratching the back of his head. “I wasn’t trying to lie to you, I swear. I just was worried you wouldn’t talk to me if you knew who I really was.” Prompto remained silent and before Noctis started shaking his head. “I’m sorry… just forget it. I shouldn’t have brought it up in the first place…”

The blonde looked up and his eyes locked with that of the Lucian Prince’s. So much had happened since this strange foreign boy around his age had wandered back down in to his cell just a short time ago. It had already been tough enough to comprehend and now to top it all off, he had just found out that the boy he had been talking with was none other than the son of Niflheim’s most infamous “ally.” Yes, it was true that there was a treaty that bonded the two nations as supposed allies, but deep down it was common knowledge that both side greatly disliked the other and both nations probably felt as though they could try and “use” the other nation to their benefit, as opposed to wasting precious resources fighting a war that could rage on endlessly for centuries.

“You keep apologizing to me, and I’m telling you, it’s really not necessary.” Prompto finally spoke and he noticed Noct visibly relax when he realized that he hadn’t scared off Prompto like he thought he might. “I really appreciate the fact that you want to help, but even the Prince of Lucis isn’t enough to change my fate. There’s no way that Niflheim would ever give me up, least of all to some Lucians.”

Noctis had been about to start arguing with the blonde boy once more, insisting that there must be something that he could do when all of a sudden he heard the unmistakable sound of heavy footfalls coming from further up the cell block and judging by the look of panic that flashed across Prompto’s face, he had heard them too.

“You need to get out of here before one of the Troopers catch you…!” Prompto frantically whispered in as quiet a voice as he could muster, while still allowing Noct to hear him. “They’re nothing like your Crownsguard, they won’t hesitate to strike you down if they find you down here, regardless of if you are royalty or not.”

Noct knew that time was of the essence, but he still felt that there was so much that he wanted to ask Prompto, so much that he wanted to discuss. He only hesitated for a moment, hurriedly whispering, “I’ll be back to see you soon Prompto, I promise. I know I won’t be able to be here all that often, but I promise that whenever I get the chance I will come see you. You don’t have to go through this alone anymore…!”

Now it seemed it was Prompto’s turn to start tearing up. He wasn’t sure if Noct would be able to keep his promise, but the fact that he had already shown so much concern for him, would it be too much to ask just to have this one good thing in his doomed existence…? He knew the odds though… knew that there was a really good possibility that he wouldn’t ever actually see Noct again, he had never been granted such luck before and he certainly didn’t expect it to start now.

“Just go Noct…! They’re going to be here any second!” Prompto whispered in a desperate tone, terrified of what would happen if the advancing Trooper discovered the young Lucian Prince. Noct would undoubtedly be taken into custody and he would certainly be punished severely for his crime of trespassing.

Much to Prompto’s relief, Noct was indeed able to disappear into the shadows not even a moment before the Trooper came into view. Hopefully, Noct wouldn’t have any trouble on the rest of his journey back to wherever it was that he was staying in the palace. Prompto had no choice but to sit down and continue his life as it was meant to be; holding tightly onto the memories of a time where he had been able to have a normal conversion with another person almost as if the two boys had been friends.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Once he had managed to avoid the first MT, it had been surprisingly easy for Noctis to find his way back to his room without any other problems. Apparently, Eos had decided to grace him with some sort of divine luck that day as not even five minutes after he had returned to his room, Cor entered the large suite to escort him to dinner.

Noctis had been surprised when he arrived and waiting for them had been a colossal feast that looked as though it could feed an entire army sitting atop the large table in the middle of the expansive dining hall. Apparently, Emperor Aldercapt had decided to hold a huge banquet for everyone in celebration of the completed and revised peace treaty once again joining Niflheim and Lucis together as allies.

After everything had happened that day and learning about the atrocities that Niflheim was capable of, Noctis didn’t really have that much of an appetite, and instead asked Cor if he could wrap up his leftovers so that he could have them later, when he was feeling more up to it. To be honest, Noctis didn’t care much for said leftovers, but he certainly knew someone that would be more than happy to eat them in his stead.

Dinner ended without much fanfare and Noctis quickly retired to their guest suite, claiming that he wanted to finish packing so he wouldn’t have to do it in the morning. The young prince spent the rest of the night packing up all his things, but was also careful to put a few specific things off to the side that he would need for tomorrow. Exhausted from the day’s events, Noctis proceeded to curl up in the large bed, his thoughts never leaving the mysterious blonde boy, Prompto. He wished that he had been able to get up the nerve to talk to the blonde boy earlier in the week, so he could have spent a little more time getting to know him before he had to leave and head back to the Crown City in the morning.


	3. The Promise

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted to continue to thank everyone for reading, giving kudos, and commenting! I love hearing everyone's thoughts.
> 
> I have to admit that I originally wanted to get this chapter up a few days ago, but I ran into a few technical problems, as in my (still rather new... >.>) laptop decided that it no longer wanted to live and completely and utterly died on me for seemingly no reason in particular. I've spent the past few days trying to sort things out and actually get a hold of the files on my computer and whatnot before the computer was sent off to get fixed. So until I get my laptop back, I've been writing everything on my tablet (and because my tablet doesn't like posting on Ao3, posting the actual chapters on my desktop comp...) Wooo... fun times...! *nervous laugh*
> 
> Regardless, I hope everyone enjoys the chapter! Comments are as always, very much appreciated! :)

What felt like just moments after he laid his head down on his pillow, the young prince was already being awoken by his father lightly shaking him. Noctis was then promptly reminded that today was the day that he, his father, Cor and the small group of Crownsguard that they had brought, would finally be leaving Gralea. Before yesterday, Noctis would have been anxiously awaiting the moment that he would finally be able to leave the dark and depressing capital. But now, he genuinely wished that he had just a little bit more time to spend here before he journeyed home with his father and everyone else.

Since his father and Cor weren’t busy with peace talk meetings, having wrapped everything up the day before, Noctis started anxiously worrying that he wouldn’t have a chance to slip away to see Prompto one more time before he left. Luckily, Regis and Cor did end up wandering off while discussing their travel plans to ensure that they got back to Insomnia as soon as possible. Cor had been in regular contact with the Lucian council members that had been taking care of things at the Citadel during their trip and luckily nothing too problematic had conspired since the king and prince had been absent, but Regis was still anxious to get back and make sure that everything continued to run smoothly.

Once the two men were out of sight, Noctis quickly grabbed the small pile of things he had gathered the night before and threw them into the small backpack he had brought with him for the trip. Once he checked again to make sure that the coast was clear, Noctis started to carefully make his way towards the hidden cell block where Prompto was being held. 

The young prince was pretty proud of the fact that he had been able to make it to the throne room in much less time than it had taken him the previous day. Before he knew it, he was already lowering himself down below the hidden trapdoor at the foot of the old throne.

Noctis checked to make sure that he didn’t hear any noises coming from the end of the passage where he knew the blonde boy’s cell was. After a few seconds of silence, Noctis quickly ran down the block till he could make out the dirty blonde hair that was once again in its usual position, curled up against the back corner of the cell.

“Prompto...! It’s me, Noct!” He bellowed happily as he pulled the backpack he had been carried off his shoulder and rested it gently on the ground.

The young blonde boy practically jumped out of his own skin when he suddenly heard a voice that he had already convinced himself he would never hear again. He genuinely thought he had been dreaming at first until Noct had rapped his knuckles against the bars of his cell and called his name once again as he started digging around in the small bag by his feet.

“…noct…? Is that really you…? I was sure that you would be half-way back to Lucis by now… what are you still doing here??” he asked in complete surprise and a considerable amount of confusion.

“I can’t stay long, but I wanted to drop by to give you a few things that should help until I can make it back.” Noctis grinned as he pulled out a couple of books, a well-used deck of cards and the container of food that he had Cor package up at dinner the night before. “I know I can’t help you by getting you out of here, so I was at least hoping I could give you some stuff to help make being in this cell a little more bearable…” Noctis mumbled as he nervously held out the items he had just retrieved from his bag. “The books are a little worn, but that’s just because I’ve read them so many times, same for the deck of cards. I mostly play Solitaire; mainly cause I don’t usually have people to play all the other games with. If we have enough time, I can totally teach you how to play.” Noctis finished before suddenly speaking up again when he realized he hadn’t explained anything about the food. “Oh! And I’m sure that the food that the guards give you has to suck, so I managed to sneak a bit of food from the farewell feast we had last night, so that way you might be able to have a proper meal for once.”

Prompto couldn’t do anything but stare at the items that Noct was holding in his outstretched hands. Was this really happening…? No, he must be in the middle of some crazy, lucid hallucination… Maybe things had gotten so bad that his brain had created this fake black-haired boy that had started being so nice to him for no apparent reason to protect his mind from some horrendous and horrible act that he was going through. Even before he had been thrown in this jail cell, he had never known that people other than his fellow MT trainees were capable of anything other than anger and hatred… this was… it was just too much and Prompto had no idea how to cope with all the feelings that were bubbling up inside him. 

Without warning, all the feelings and all his buried emotions suddenly rushed to the surface and exploded out of him as the blonde boy fell to his knees mere inches from the bars of his cell, and could do nothing but sit there sobbing his eyes out. Prompto was sure that Noct would think him insane and run away, but yet again to his utter surprise, Noct softly laid the items back on his backpack and did his best to wrap his arms around the blonde as comfortably and kindly as he could manage. Noctis elected that the best plan right now would be just to sit there with Prompto, not talking or moving until the boy's tears finally stopped falling. 

After Prompto finally managed to calm himself down a little, he gratefully accepted the items that Noct had offered him with an almost endless string of “Thank You’s” and the boys spent the remainder of the short time that Noct had, talking about anything and everything they could think of. Noct told Prompto more stories about what life in Insomnia was like and even taught Prompto how to play Solitaire, just like he had mentioned when he had first arrived. 

At first, Prompto was terrified that an MT, or god forbid, Eldrith, would possibly be able to find his precious gifts. There would undoubtedly be confiscated and destroyed and Prompto knew that he would never be able to escape the whole situation unharmed. However, the blonde was luckily able to locate some loose stones towards the back of his cell near where he normally curled up when he wanted to sleep. After further investigation, Prompto also found that after removing a few more loose bricks, he would be able to fit everything that Noct had given him inside this little, hidden space. This way, any time he heard someone approaching his cell, he would just be able to place whatever he needed to hide in the little extra space, and the visitor, whoever they were, wouldn’t have any reason to become suspicious.

As the boys had started talking about one of the books that Noct had given Prompto, the young prince happened to lazily glance over at the watch that he had actually remembered to bring with him this time and almost leapt up in surprise when he realized that it was already past noon. Cor would undoubtedly be coming to check in on him in a little over a half-hour or so to make sure that he was all packed and ready to leave.

“Crap.” Noctis groaned. “I’m so sorry Prompto, but I really need to get going. If I’m not in my room when Cor comes back, I’m going to be in a HUGE amount of trouble…”

Prompto’s face quickly fell as he realized that he would soon be alone once again and this time he really had no idea if he would ever see Noct again… he was the prince of Lucis after all. He would be heading back to Insomnia and would probably never want to set foot in Gralea ever again. After all, the boys had talked in excess about how different life was in Insomnia as opposed to Gralea…  _ Oh well, it was good while it lasted…  _ Prompto thought sadly to himself. 

“I’m not sure when I’ll be able to make it back, but I’m pretty sure that my father usually returns to Niflheim every few months or so and I’ll make sure that he definitely brings me along the next time he comes.” Noctis tried to reassure the blonde, noticing the way Prompto’s shoulders and face had visibly drooped after he mentioned that he needed to leave.

“…thanks…” was all that Prompto could think to say. “I still don’t know why you felt the need to do all this… but thank you. I wish there was some way that I could start to repay you…” 

“Just make sure that you’re here waiting when I come back, okay?” Noctis grinned as he zipped up his now empty backpack and held out his hand. “Promise me you’ll be here and I promise that I’ll come back and see you as soon as I can.”

Prompto could feel the tears start building up in his eyes again as he stared into the kind eyes across from him that seemed so confident and determined. It was almost like they were making a simple and easy agreement to meet up for dinner later that night or something. Still unsuccessfully trying to stem the tears falling down his pale cheeks, Prompto extended his thin arm to grasp Noct’s and the two boys happily shook hands, finalizing their agreement to each keep their end of the promise.

“Okay.” Prompto agreed as he brushed the newly fallen tears from his damp eyes with his tattered sleeve. “It’s a deal.”

“Great!” Noctis smiled as he hesitated for just a moment before finally forcing himself to break away from the contact with Prompto to start the trek back to his guest suite before Cor realized that he wasn’t actually there. “See ya later, Prompto!” He yelled and waved as he walked further away from where the blonde was still frozen in place inside his cell.

Noctis didn’t even realize until he had left the old throne room that there had been a strange feeling on his face and that somewhere along saying goodbye to Prompto and climbing out of the trapdoor, a number of tears has started silently falling down his own cheeks. He felt guilty leaving Prompto in such a horrible situation, not knowing when he would be able to come back; but he had promised the blonde that he would, and no matter what it took, he would keep his promise. 

As he walked out of the room and continued on his way back to his guest chambers, he couldn’t help but feel as though he was leaving a good friend behind and that caused him to feel a sharp pain deep in his heart. Noctis paused as a sudden thought struck him. Was it possible that he could count Prompto as a friend…? An actual and 100% honest to goodness friend…? To be honest, friends were something that Noctis really didn’t have that much experience with. He guessed he could probably count Ignis as being his friend… but it was still a bit different because ultimately, it was Ignis’s job to take care of him and advise him on the proper ways to be a prince and eventually… a king. He always had large groups of other students that wanted to talk or hang out with him after school, but he knew that they only wanted to get to know him because they wanted to be able to say that they were friends with “The Prince of Lucis” as opposed to being friends with Noctis himself. 

_ Way to go Noct… _ he thought to himself,  _ you finally made a friend and he just so happens to be an ultra-top-secret prisoner of Niflheim that isn’t even supposed to exist. You sure know how to pick um, dontcha? _

It was only a short time later when Noctis managed to get back to his room. He slowly opened the door and let a huge sigh of relief when he realized that the room was still empty. The young prince made sure to pack his small backpack away with the rest of his stuff and with a loud yawn, he wandered over towards the bed and decided that he still had enough time to take a quick nap before his father and Cor returned to collect him to start their long trip back to Insomnia.

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As the years went by, Noctis was determined to keep and honor the promise that he had made to Prompto in that dark and dingy little cell in Niflheim when he was only eight years old. He had made sure that anytime his father planned to visit Niflheim for whatever reason, that he would accompany him without question.

His father was caught very off-guard the first time Noctis has asked to go back to Niflheim with him. Noctis usually tried to shirk as many royal responsibilities as he could, but the prince just told his father what Cor had told him the first time they had gone to Niflheim and Noctis had originally asked the Marshal why he had been brought to Gralea, which seemed to elicit the appropriate response.

Regis certainly wasn’t going to argue with his son about this new sudden interest in royal affairs, or else risk the boy reverting to his past indifference. Nevertheless, he still thought it peculiar that Noctis was always so eager to visit Niflheim specifically. Regis noticed that Noctis never pushed as hard (if at all) when the crown was scheduled to travel to what he thought were much more appealing destinations like Altissia, or even more local destinations like Lestallum. It certainly was odd, but with Regis getting older and visibly weaker as the years passed on, he knew that if this was the way to get Noctis interested and learn what was expected of a King of Lucis, he would take it as a blessing.

All in all, Noctis had been satisfied that he had been able to visit Niflheim on a fairly frequent basis over the years. It was usually only every few months or so, but every single time he arrived, the first morning of his arrival, Noctis headed down into the dark, deep recesses of the castle to visit the blonde boy who did not exist as far as the rest of the world was concerned.

Years went by, but things never changed and it seemed that the bond between the two unlikely friends only seemed to grow stronger. Noctis was always bringing Prompto lots of books to replace the ones that he had already read, and over time had found that the blonde had taken a particular liking to the photography books he brought. When he had asked why Prompto enjoyed these particular books so much, the blonde simply explained that by looking at all of the exotic and colorful pictures in them, it was almost as if he was transported to all the different amazing and breathtakingly beautiful places and for those few moments he felt like he could escape the four cold walls that imprisoned him within reality. Another habit that Noctis picked up almost religiously, was sneaking the blonde copious amounts of leftover food that he had saved from his overly extravagant dinners the nights before. That way, Prompto wouldn’t completely wither away into nothing. 

The prince hated that Prompto was still basically skin and bone, seeing as he barely ate anything during the periods of which Noctis was not in Niflheim. Prompto had casually let slip one time that sometimes he could go an entire week without getting any food or water, which only made the raven-haired prince want to bring him even more copious amounts of food to make up for it. Even so, as much as it pained Noctis seeing his only true friend so unhealthy, the guards would easily get suspicious if Prompto suddenly started putting on weight when he was supposed to have been given just enough rations to be kept alive.

Before the two boys knew it, nine years had already passed and both Noctis and Prompto were already seventeen years old.

“It’s hard to believe that we’ve been friends for almost ten years now…” Noctis muttered quietly. “And I still haven’t been able to figure out a way to get you out of here…” 

“Well it’s not like you ever really had a chance of doing that anyway.” Prompto laughed as he was looking through the newest photography book that Noctis had brought him. It was a special edition copy which was focused on Insomnia and had been released recently in celebration of Noct’s upcoming 18 th birthday. “You still found a way to make my time in here bearable and gave me something to look forward to, rather than the alternative of me just sitting alone down here waiting for my body to slowly rot away. I can never thank you enough for that.”

“What do you mean I “gave” you something to look forward to?” Noctis frowned as his brain decidedly stuck onto the fact that Prompto had specifically decided to use past tense in his comment just now. Was it a mistake, a slip of the tongue… or was there something that made him think that he was going to stop visiting him all of a sudden?

The light grin on the blonde’s face fell as he suddenly started looking very serious and to be honest Noctis was confused and concerned about what the blonde was thinking.

“You know, things are not as safe for you here as they were when you were eight…” Prompto noted softly as he momentarily shifted his attention from the book in his lap to look directly at the prince sitting across from him. “I’ve heard that tensions between Niflheim and Lucis are reaching a dangerous high and there has even been talk about the potential that the peace treaty could collapse and a war could break out between our two nations any day now…”

“And how exactly did you come across that kind of information while sitting in this cell 24/7…?” Noctis snapped. He hadn’t meant for that to come across as hurtful as it had, but honestly the thought of not being able to see Prompto anymore completely and utterly terrified him. He had never been able to open up to anyone in the same way that he could with Prompto, and he never had to worry about being anything other than himself when he was visiting with the skinny blonde. He never had to worry about being the Crown Prince of Lucis in Prompto’s presence… all he had to be was Noct, just Noct and nothing else. The scary thing was that there wasn’t anyone else in his life that Noct felt as comfortable to be himself around… even when it came to Iggy or Gladio, who were probably the two other closest people in his life apart from his own father.

“You’d be surprised how much the guards talk when they think no-one is listening-” Prompto replied, his eyes downcast as Noctis was jolted out of his worried thoughts.

“That’s just gossip. I haven’t heard anything from my father or Ignis about such a thing.. and trust me, they would definitely know.” Noctis quickly replied confidently, cutting the blonde off mid-thought. He knew the treaty was an uneasy alliance, but there was no way that his father or Ignis would keep something so important and crucial a secret from him… right?

“I’m just telling you what I’ve heard. If you somehow got caught in the crossfire because of me, I would never be able to forgive myself….” The blonde muttered sadly.

“Well don’t you worry about that, because it’s going to take more than a little bit of fighting to take me down. I’ve been training with Gladio for as long as I can remember, and even then, I can never seem to go anywhere without a huge group of Crownsguard stalking my every move.”

“Oh, you mean like the same Crownsguard that you ditched in order to come see me…?” Prompto replied, his voice now considerably lighter than it had been moments ago.

Noctis thought for a moment before quickly muttering, “A-Ah… well yeah, but that- they… just shut up, will you?” he finished, a slight smirk on his face as he playfully pushed at the blonde boy’s shoulder through the old iron bars.

Noctis quickly glanced at his watch and let out a large groan, “Dammit.”

“Time to go?” Prompto asked, his smile fading as it always did when Noct had to leave. The Lucian prince nodded, also frowning, the time that he was able to spend with Prompto never seemed nearly long enough, but he couldn’t afford to take the chance that someone might find out what Noctis was up to in his free time.

“Yeah, but I’ll be back tomorrow, same time.” He replied as he slowly stood and waved goodbye.

“Ah damn… I had something planned at this time tomorrow, though I guess I can cancel my plans… but only because it’s you.” Prompto joked with a goofy grin now on his face. Noctis was very confused for a second, caught off-guard by the blonde’s comment, before grinning and nodding. 

“See ya.” Prompto waved back until Noctis had finally disappeared from his line of sight. The blonde youth let out a long sigh and with nothing else to divert his attention, he sat back down to finish reading the photography book on Insomnia that still remain open in his lap.

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“Hey, Specs…! Where’s the large blue book that I left on my bed earlier today? It’s not there anymore and I can’t find it anywhere…” Noctis called, as he was currently digging through a large pile of laundry lying on his bed that he had never bothered to put away… or even sort for that matter. The Lucian crown was due to travel back to Niflheim in just a few days and that morning he remembered having this old book that he used to read through a lot in middle school because it was full of a whole bunch of pictures that had been taken all around Lucis by some really famous and well-known photographers. 

When he was younger, there had been this ginormous photography contest and the people who had been in charge of it decided to publish all of the winning entries and a bunch of honorable mentions into a commemorative book and Noctis knew that Prompto would be ecstatic to see all the amazing pictures. He had managed to track it down before meeting with his father for lunch and then he had been escorted straight to a training session with Gladio afterwards, but now that he had finally made it back to his room, the book had apparently disappeared into thin air.  

“Where do you think it is, Noct?” Ignis replied bluntly. “Where do I always put any of your books or comic-books when you leave them lying haphazardly around your room?”

“Yeah, yeah… bookcase, I got it.” He groaned before muttering quietly to himself, “I may not be a clean-freak like you Iggy, but I swear the only time I ever have trouble finding things is when you go through and clean everything up in my room.”

“What was that, Your Highness?” Ignis asked as he started walking over towards the prince who was now trying to figure out which bookcase he had been talking about. There were a lot of bookcases in his room and Ignis hadn’t been very specific about which one or where in what particular bookcase he had placed the book in question.

“Nothing at all Iggy… Nothing at all.” Noctis quickly replied as he  _ finally _ found the book and pulled it out before flipping through the pages quickly to confirm that this was indeed the book he had been looking for. He didn’t want to get all the way to Niflheim, just to realize that he brought the wrong book.

“Would you like to tell me why this book is so important?” Ignis asked curious as to why the Prince had been so frantic over a book that he hadn’t touched in years.

“I just felt like bringing it with me to read on our way to Niflheim next week.” Noctis shrugged, trying to act casual about it so that Ignis wouldn’t continue to pry. Telling the taller man the real reason why he wanted to bring the book was completely out of the question and honestly, he really didn’t feel like coming up with some complicated cover story that would please his advisor.

“Niflheim…?” Ignis replied, clearly confused. “Did your father not inform you that he was considering calling off the trip to Niflheim?  He is quite worried that things may not…” The tall, blonde man paused as though he wanted to choose his words very carefully. “…go as smoothly as they have gone in the past.”

“What!?” Noctis exclaimed as he froze where he was, dropping the book back on his bed and starting quickly for the door. “Don’t move that.” Was all that the raven-haired boy said as he pointed to the discarded blue book and disappeared from his room before Ignis could do anything to stop him.

Noctis practically sprinted from his room all the way to his father’s study where he was pretty sure that he was meeting with Cor and his own sworn shield, Clarus Amicitia. 

“Dad…!” Noctis shouted loudly, as he practically exploded into the large study, almost gasping for breath after having practically all-out sprinted the entire way from his room. “You can’t… possibly be thinking… about calling off the Niflheim Peace Talks…!?!” He continued to shout in between trying desperately to catch his breath.

“Prince Noctis…!? What is the meaning of this?” Clarus demanded sternly as the eyes of all three men focused on the young prince who had rudely barged into the king’s study while they had been in the middle of a very important discussion. Regis had remained silent thus far, surprise written all over his face and yet clearly trying his best to calmly assess the situation. Clarus looked as though he wanted to scold the prince for his brash and highly disrespectful behavior, but remained silent as Regis waved him off. Cor merely stood back and remained silent.

“Noctis, would you care to explain what is going on?” Regis asked simply, before pausing.

Noctis gave a slightly rushed and awkward bow to his father before continuing. “I apologize for intruding, but Ignis just told me that you are considering calling off the Niflheim Peace Talks…”

“Yes, your advisor speaks the truth.” Regis nodded. “You know as well as I that the Peace Talks have been responsible for the long-lasting truce that we had be able to forge with Niflheim over the years… however, recent events have shown that Niflheim may not be as content with such a peace as we are. The council has become increasingly concerned that it may no longer be safe for the royal family to travel to the heart of Niflheim so carelessly. There is no telling if and when they might try to pull something while we are there as their guests.”

Noctis couldn’t believe what he was hearing… this was ridiculous! All of a sudden the young prince suddenly flashed back to the last time that he had talked with Prompto in Niflheim and how the blonde had warned him that things had been getting complicated between the two nations… but of course Noctis had brushed the idea aside, confident that it was just a stupid rumor. Why hadn’t he taken Prompto’s warning more seriously…?? Now, because of his stubbornness, he might lose any chance he had of ever seeing Prompto again. If he never saw Prompto again, then that also meant that he wouldn’t be able to keep up his part of the promise that the two boys had made to each other. As if that wasn’t bad enough, who knew what would happen to Prompto if Niflheim and Lucis went to war…?

“But Dad…! These are all just theories and supposition! There is no concrete proof that the Empire actually wants to go to war with Lucis… they benefit from the Peace Talks just as much as we do!” The prince pleaded desperately with his father. “If you cancel the Peace Talks now, then you are basically just giving Niflheim the excuse it needs to do exactly what you are trying to prevent them from doing in the first place!”

“Noctis, for what reason are you so vehemently against suspending the Peace Talks…? It can’t simply be solely for the sake of the Kingdom of Lucis.” This time it was Cor who spoke up and Noctis was instantly struck into silence. “I know that you have been very supportive of the talks and always exceedingly diligent in accompanying your father whenever he travels there, but is there perhaps another reason that it is so important for you to get back to Niflheim?”

_ Shit. _ Noctis thought to himself.  _ Of course, I should have expected that Cor would see through my fabricated reasons of wanting to go to Niflheim… but even then, I can’t just casually be like ‘oh yeah, did I ever mention that I’ve secretly become best friends with a Niflheim prisoner who is so secret that the Empire has essentially erased his very existence?’… Yeah, no. None of them would understand… not even my dad. They need an answer though… they won’t listen to me if I just ramble on and on, but I just don’t know… I don’t know what to do… what in the almighty fuck am I supposed to say to convince them??? _

He had to say  _ something _ , but he had no idea what he could possibly say that would reasonably convince any of the three men in front of him of anything.

“Well, Noctis?” Regis asked expectantly. “Are you going to answer the Marshal’s question?”

“I…I…I-I don’t know…” Noctis couldn’t help but answer completely honestly. “I just think that it’s a little early to accuse Niflheim of something that hasn’t even happened. As the King, isn’t your job to protect the lives of all the citizens within our kingdom? Maintaining peace as long as possible with a country that could easily be our worst enemy, isn’t that the best way right now to safeguard our citizens well-being? By recklessly causing unnecessary stress in this admittedly uneasy alliance, we could end up jump starting something that we may end up regretting.” It wasn’t as convincing as Noctis was hoping it would be, but it was all he could think of under such pressure.

It was true that being the King was incredibly demanding, but Regis had always been very insistent on spending as much time with Noctis as his duties would possibly allow. There was nothing on Eos that was more important to him than his own son, and it was because of this close connection with his only child that allowed Regis to read the boy quite easily. He could tell when Noctis wasn’t being completely truthful, and it was very clear that right now, he did indeed seem to be hiding something. However, pressing him right here in front of Cor and Clarus would do nothing but complicate things and serve to only make Noctis become more secretive about whatever it was that was truly bothering him. He would drop the issue for now… but that didn’t mean that he would let it die all together.

“Very well, Noctis.” Regis spoke with an air of finality that made it clear that their conversation had now concluded. “I will take your thoughts into account, and I will let you know what I have decided by dinner tonight.”

“Thank you, Father.” Noctis bowed his head respectfully once more as he exited the room. There was nothing else that he could do now and he just prayed to the six that what had had said had been enough for his father to reconsider his position on the talks. He wasn’t sure what he would do if he wasn’t permitted to travel to Niflheim anymore and worse yet, he wouldn’t even be able to tell anyone why.

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The wait up until dinner was hell. There was no other way to describe it. Noctis couldn’t concentrate on anything, because his thoughts kept drifting to all the worst situations of what would happen if his father decided to go ahead with the plans to cancel the regular trips to Niflheim. When he had finally gotten to large dining room, he was an absolute, nervous wreck and was about to lose it when his father finally entered the room and he couldn’t help himself from blurting out, 

“So? What did you decide? Please tell me that we are still planning on going to Niflheim next week...” he didn’t even bother masking the desperation in his voice as he tried to study his father’s expression hoping that it would give him some sort of clue as to what his father had decided.

“I have discussed the issue at great length with the members of the Lucian council and weighed all sides of the arguments that have been presented to me. I can not deny that Niflheim has been getting more aggressive not only with their own conquests, but with what they have been proposing on the most recent versions of the treaty between our two nations…”

“Dad… you… you can’t…” Noctis breathed out an anxious and shaky breath. This couldn't be happening... it just couldn't... what was he going to do if he couldn't see Prompto anymore?  


“However…” the King continued and Noctis practically stopped breathing, “I also cannot deny that Niflheim has not yet violated their terms of the treaty and it would be foolish to provoke them to do so by abandoning such terms. Therefore, we will proceed with our trip to Niflheim as planned-”

Noctis let out the huge breath that he had been holding and was so relieved that he almost felt as though he wanted to pass out right then and there at the dinner table. All the adrenaline that had been flooding through his system was suddenly draining and he could feel his heart beating as though it was trying to erupt out of his chest.

“Dad, Thank y-”

“Nevertheless…” Regis continued, silencing Noctis as he had started to speak, “I cannot in good faith drag my family into a situation where I cannot absolutely guarantee their safety.” Noctis’s heart seemed to once again take to plummeting down deep within his stomach as he anxiously waited for his father to finish. “With that being said, I have decided that this will be the last time the Lucian royal family will journey to Niflheim. Any further trips would simply be too unpredictable and unreliable and we would be unable to maintain what I feel is an acceptable level of safety precautions while in the Emperor’s care.

Noctis sat still where he was, merely staring off at nowhere in particular. Should he be excited and relieved that his father gave the green light for the trip to Niflheim next week? Or should he be frustrated and at the same time and terrified that this next trip would be his last…?  _ Oh god…  _ Noctis suddenly thought.  _ Prompto… I have to warn him. He has to know that my dad is stopping the regular trips to Niflheim. Otherwise, Prom’s going to think that I just left and abandoned him… He’s going to think that I went back on my promise and there would be no way for me to tell him otherwise. _

“I still think that you’re being a little paranoid to cease the talks all together, but who knows? Maybe the Niffs will have a sudden change of heart and you’ll realize that things are not quite as dire as they seem.” Noctis finished, his father letting out a booming laugh that almost shook the large table they were currently sitting at.

“Who knows? Maybe they will… that would certainly make my job a lot easier.” Regis couldn’t help but continue to chuckle as the kitchen staff served both him and Noctis a beautifully prepared dinner.

While Regis seemed considerably more relaxed following the conversation with his son, Noctis’s body still felt quite unstable from the flooding of adrenaline that was currently still surging through his system. After taking a few deep breaths however, he finally felt as though he could actually start eating without instantly feeling nauseous. He was still worried that this next trip to Niflheim would be his last, but it was a  _ long _ journey to Niflheim… that was certainly long enough for him to formulate a plan of action, right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh man... I am so excited to start getting the next few chapters out, now that we've pretty much laid all the groundwork, it's just about time for the shit to start hitting the fan! ;D


	4. Lost and Found

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone who is continuing to read, comment, bookmark and give kudos! I hope everyone continues to enjoy reading the story as much as I enjoy writing it!
> 
> Comments are, as always, very much appreciated! :)

The royal convoy was due to arrive at the Emperor’s palace in Gralea any minute now and worse yet, Noctis had failed to come up with any semblance of a plan to try and either help Prompto or to get his father to reconsider his decision to indefinitely suspend the Peace Talks.

As if it were even possible, the capital city looked worse than ever. Noctis couldn’t even believe that people were actually able to make a living in such a run down and decrepit city. It was a wonder that Niflheim was still such a threat to Lucis when it seemed as though the country was rotting from the inside out.

At the very least, now that Noctis was of age, he had recently been able to convince his father and Cor to allow him to stay in his own room while staying in the Palace . This ultimately meant that at least Noctis wouldn’t have to worry as much about his dad wandering into his room while he wasn’t there and questioning him about it later.

In recent trips, the young prince had usually tried to avoid going down to see Prompto first thing after arriving; and that was for multiple reasons. First of all, security in the palace was usually tightened up as the Lucian convoy arrived. Noctis could only assume this was because people were frequently moving in and out of the castle at the time and Aldercapt seemed to be as paranoid as ever with who he would let in and out of the palace walls. This heightened level of security made it much harder for Noctis to effectively sneak his way through the large hallways to the old throne room where the trap door to Prompto’s cell was without being noticed. Not only that, but the journey from Lucis to Niflheim was exceedingly long and arduous and Noctis was usually too exhausted to do anything but find the closest bed and pass out for a few good hours once he had finally been shepherded into his spacious guest suite.

However, this time was totally different. Noctis knew that he was too worried and anxious about warning Prompto about everything and there was no way that he would be able to relax long enough to actually fall asleep. He would just have to take his chances with the beefed-up security and be extra careful that he didn’t get caught. His training with Gladio had actually been going pretty well as of late and Noctis was getting much better at controlling his warping. He felt like he was really starting to get the hang of being able to sneak around large open areas without people noticing him. Much to Ignis’s chagrin, Noctis had even started trying to see how long he could sneak around the Citadel before the ill-fated advisor managed to pin him down long enough to read through those annoying political reports that he delivered just about every day.

The anxious prince ran as quickly as he would allow himself and was rather surprised and slightly alarmed when he was half way to the old throne room and didn’t run into a single MT. It wouldn’t be so unusual during the dead hours of the morning or at night, but right now…? In the late afternoon right as the royal family of Lucis had arrived at the castle…? Not once in the ten years since his first visit had he seen the security so… nonexistent. Something had to be going on and that was something that terrified Noctis to his core; there was no guessing what Niflheim was up to.

He continued racing through the scattered hallways until he reached the familiar and forgotten throne room that by this point was looking more like an abandoned tomb than anything else; and Noctis desperately hoped that this was not some kind of terrible omen.

The raven practically jumped down the opening and flashed down into the tunnel, running as fast as his legs would carry him, throwing in a warp strike here or there for good measure. He could almost hear Ignis telling him off in his head for being so reckless, seeing as anyone could be down here and he had almost completely cast off any attempt to hide his presence.

“PROMPTO!” Noctis called out as loud as he possibly dared. For once, he yearned to hear the blonde call him out and tell him off for being too loud… but there was nothing; nothing but the silence of the occasional dripping from the broken pipes that greeted prince’s ears in return. Finally, Noctis reached the blonde’s cell and frantically searched for some sign of life within… but it was completely… empty. There was no hide, no hair, no _anything_ to show that there had ever been anyone that had occupied this cell.

“But… nononono… this can’t… this can’t be happening…” Noctis breathlessly muttered to himself in equal parts confusion and pure terror at what the implications seemed to be telling him. NEVER… NEVER in the entirety of the ten years of sneaking down here had Noctis ever come to Niflheim and seen the cell before him empty… in fact he had had many conversations with Prompto about that very topic and the blonde himself had admitted that the Niffs had never let him out of his cell since his initial imprisonment and they had also made it very clear that they never intended to do so in the future either.

_Could he have possibly managed to escape?_ There was a part of Noctis that very earnestly hoped that it was true, but another part of him knowing that if it was, there was very little to no chance that Prompto would actually be able to escape Niflheim, let alone Gralea on his own power. The prince took a closer look at the cell door and after giving it a slight tug, he observed that the cell door was indeed still locked. There was no way that Prompto would have taken the time to relock a cell that he had just escaped from, if he had actually escaped. That would be completely ridiculous and a waste of precious time he could be using to get away.  

_So… if you didn’t escape… what happened… where are you, Prompto?_ Noctis wracked his brain, trying to wrack his brain for as many theories as he could think of which might explain the current predicament… and pretty much all of them ended up with his friend in a seriously bad situation.

The only thing more mind-numbingly frustrating than not knowing what happened to Prompto was the fact that there was literally nothing he could do, and no-one he could ask to even try and locate him. It wasn’t like he could just go up to a random guard and ask them where their ultra-top-secret, not even supposed to exist prisoner was. Even then, just about the only people that even had a chance of helping him were the most senior members of the court of Niflheim and they sure as hell wouldn’t be stupid enough to say anything to the Prince of Lucis of all people.

“FUCK!” Noctis yelled loudly in complete and utter frustration. There was no telling where Prompto was or what was happening to him and that terrified the shit out of the Lucian prince. He couldn’t even be sure if he was still alive or not at this point… how long had it been since he had been taken out of his cell? Hours…? Days…? Weeks…? There was just no way to be sure. Maybe… could someone have figured out that Noctis had been visiting the blonde and they had decided to take him out of the picture all together…? But no… they hadn’t killed Prompto already because they couldn’t, right? He was the thingamaboby from that prophecy that Prompto had told him about when they had first met. If he died before he completed his divined mission, then he would simply be reincarnated somewhere else on Eos, which just spelled more trouble for Niflheim. That was why Prompto had been kept alive all this time in the first place, right?

All that was well and good, but Noctis still had no idea where to even start looking for Prompto right now. He briefly considered just waiting down here to see if maybe… just maybe the guards would bring him back to his cell, but there was no guarantee when or even IF that would ever happen. No… there had to be something he could actually DO to track down the blonde rather than sitting down here like a useless sack of shit.

Then a sudden idea hit Noctis like a ton of bricks. It was a ridiculous plan, a really, crazy plan and a _huge_ long shot. Not to mention, he HATED the implications of what it would require him to do. If it actually worked though… and he was able to find the blonde, then he would put up with it; for Prompto’s sake.

There was still one person in the palace that Noctis could 100% guarantee, knew of the blonde’s existence and probably even his current whereabouts. It was of course, none other than the royal douchebag himself, Eldrith Aldercapt, Crown Prince of Niflheim. After the first “adventure” that they had gone on together, Noctis had always been quick to try and avoid the other boy as much as humanly possible, and from the little that he had seen of him over the past ten years, it looked as though Eldrith only continued to become an even larger pain in the ass than when they first met. He paraded around the palace as though he was the six’s gift to the rest of the world… it was nauseating just witnessing the guy walk down a damn hallway. He treated everyone in the castle like absolute shit, well except for his father of course.

As much as Noctis hated trying to go and actively search for the very person he had spent the last ten odd years avoiding, but he also knew that time was absolutely critical right now. Every second that he wasted down here brooding was another second that Prompto was very likely in danger in some shape or form.

According to the report that Cor had briefed his father on while they had been working their way through Gralea and Noctis luckily had just so happened to be listening to, these days Eldrith spent most of his time in the armory. He spent endless hours practicing with the seemingly endless varieties of deadly weapons assigned to all of their MT soldiers. Noctis had never actually been to the palace armory before, but he assumed that he should be able to inquire as to its location from any official looking Niff in the palace.

Much to Noctis’s surprise and relief it hadn’t been nearly as difficult or confusing as he thought it would be to find his way to the armory. He asked one of the guards about it, claiming he had important things that he needed to discuss with Eldrith. He was pretty sure that the guard had been about a second away of evicting him from the palace before he explained that he was the Crown Prince of Lucis and much like his father, King Regis, had important things to confer with Emperor Aldercapt about, Noctis had a matter of the utmost importance he had to discuss with Eldrith. It was in fact, the six-honest truth, just not in the way the guard may have expected.

_What is it with Niflheim and their apparent aversion to properly lighting up a damn room?_ Noctis thought as he pushed the heavy steel-casted door open. The armory not unlike most any other rooms or spaces you found in Gralea, was quite dim and awkwardly lit with a quite unsettling almost orange-like glow.

To Noctis’s relief and utter annoyance, the man of the hour, Eldrith Aldercapt, was indeed standing at the opposite end of the large room. He seemed very busy surveying a large weapon rack, which held some sharp and very deadly looking javelins. Noctis couldn’t believe the look of the blades; they were so shiny and sharp that he wouldn’t be surprised if Eldrith started slashing through the thick air and it simply separated like butter.

“Got some pretty sick looking javelins there… maybe not better than some of the artesian blades I’ve seen them make back in Insomnia, but overall not bad.” Noctis swallowed, before breaking the silence in the practically deserted room except for the two princes.

“Who dares to-” The other prince stared growling before turning around and recognizing the owner of the voice that had just interrupted his very important task of admiring the glorious weapons that his dad’s best master blacksmith had finished this very morning. “Ah, it’s just you…” Eldrith sighed as he returned his focus to the spotless blades before him. “The little-bitty scaredy-baby Prince of Lucis who likes to avoid any kind of conflict, because he knows that he’s useless and can’t do shit.” He openly mocked.

Noctis had to utilize every single bit of restraint that he currently possessed to hold himself back so that he didn’t fucking strangle the other prince right then and there. Not yet… this was very likely his one and only chance at getting information on where Prompto was, so he just needed to grin and bear it for right now.

“Yeah about that. I’ve been thinking it over and decided that you were right.” Noctis spoke as he tried not to hurl or gag while he talked. Eldrith may be strong, but he really wasn’t all that bright and being such an obvious gigantic narcissist, Noctis would unfortunately need to feed the other male’s ego if he wanted to get any answers.

Whatever Eldrith had been expecting Noctis to say, it certainly wasn’t that. The Niff prince just stood there stunned and thus Noctis took this as an invitation to continue.

“This isn’t exactly easy to say… but you were right about me and about what was the best way to relax and blow off some steam…” Noctis continued in the slimiest and most stuck-up voice he could muster. “But the problem is that I can’t just go around Insomnia beating up any random old person in the street…” _Deep breaths Noct, deep breaths…_ “I was kind of hoping that kid was still here, because man… that shit would just be perfect. Problem is… I went to his cell earlier and he’s not there. Any idea where I can find him?”

At the mention of Prompto, Eldrith seemed to finally break out of his previous stupor, and Noctis wasn’t sure he liked what that implied, but he couldn’t worry about that right now.

“You mean that piece of trash that you refused to so much as touch ten years ago because you decided to act all saintly and shit?” Eldrith replied bluntly, he wasn’t the sharpest person, but even he was hardly convinced that Noctis would change his tune so drastically after going out of his way to avoid running into him for the past ten years.

Noctis simply nodded because he really just couldn’t think of anything else to do but to keep pushing and hope that Eldrith gave him some shred of a clue on where Prompto was… _something, anything_ to work from. It seemed that the other prince wasn’t buying his story, but he also had yet to completely call his bluff, so that was something at least, right?  

“Anyway…” Eldrith finally continued slowly as if to gauge the raven-haired boy’s reaction. “I don’t know how much longer he’s going to be around, so if you really want to blow off some steam, I’d suggest focusing your frustrations on someone else.”

“Why is that…?” Was all Noctis dared to say, fearful that if he said too much or said the wrong thing that Eldrith would realize his true intentions.

“None of your damn business, Lucian.” Eldrith snapped. “Now if you excuse me, I have a very important engagement that I need to get to, so why don’t you just get lost?” The other prince finished as he practically shoved Noctis out of his way before swiftly exiting the armory and disappearing out into the hallway outside.

“Seems like you haven’t changed at all these past ten years…” Noctis muttered to himself, not regretting his efforts to avoid the other male as best he could since he had started regularly traveling with his father to Niflheim.

_Shit. This is no time to be wasting thinking about what a jerk Eldrith is… I still need to find Prompto and unfortunately that narcissistic douchebag is my only concrete connection to finding him. Wait…_ Noctis stopped pacing as he thought back to what Eldrith had said right before he left. _He didn’t just walk off in a huff by random chance… he had said something about an engagement he needed to keep, right? There was probably no way… what are the chances, really? There’s absolutely no telling where he is going or what he is doing, but there is a chance, however slight, that if I follow him, maybe… just maybe, he might lead me to some other clues about where Prompto is?_

Noctis was aware of how reckless and stupid this plan probably was… secretly stalking the prince of an allied nation… he would definitely get in deep shit if he was found out. But right now…? Right now he didn’t care. He was fucking desperate and didn’t have any other ideas and he sure as heck wasn’t going to stand by and do nothing while Niflheim did six-knew what to Prompto.

Without another millisecond to spare, the harried prince sped out of the dark and depressing armory and worked on picking up on Eldrith’s trail. Once he found him, Noctis refused to take his eyes off the other prince for more than a single second because if he lost him now, it was very likely that he would never see Prompto ever again.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Noctis started getting a little nervous and anxious when he had been following Eldrith for what had to be a good half hour and despite his claim about needing to be somewhere important, the other male certainly didn’t seem in a rush to get anywhere at all. After all, he had seemed perfectly content wasting what had to be a good fifteen minutes, screaming profanities at one of the servants that had the misfortune of accidentally bumping into him while carrying a large trash bag of who knew what.

The raven-haired youth couldn’t help but cringe at the long chain of abuses that were streaming out of the other prince’s mouth. He couldn’t say for sure what exactly was contained within the large plastic bag, but Eldrith acted as though the poor woman had opened the bag, dumped its entire contents upon his head and rubbed it in his face. Noctis felt strongly compelled to step out of his hiding place to aid the poor girl who had quickly been reduced to openly sobbing. Although if he did do that, Eldrith would realize that he had been followed and there was no way that he would allow Noctis to continue to do so.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Eldrith seemed to run out of insults to call the unfortunate girl losing interest and giving her the opportunity to get away from said prince as quickly as she could while still trying to unsuccessfully stem the tears streaming down her face.

It was another ten minutes later that Noctis found himself watching Eldrith approach a large and oddly plain looking door that seemed very out of place with the rest of the palace which seemed to exude sheer luxury and elegance. He knocked on the door and almost immediately a small gap appeared in the door at about head height, before quickly closing once again. There was the distinct sound of many mechanisms moving and unlocking and after about another ten seconds or so, the entire door opened just enough for the Niflheim Prince to squeeze in before almost immediately slamming shut behind him.

“Quite the security system they’ve got there…” Noctis muttered to himself. “The only reason such drastic measures would be necessary is if they have something or _someone_ that they don’t want people seeing inside…”

Carefully looking to make sure that the coast was clear and that he wouldn’t be surprised by any passing guards, Noctis quickly and silently warped over to the door and started examining it thoroughly. He had had the small hope that _maybe_ there was some kind of secret switch that he could find to open it, but he had no such luck in finding such a thing. He seriously doubted that the Niffs would make it _that_ easy. Noctis needed to figure out some way to confirm if his suspicious were right, but he could only do that if he was able to get a visual of the room that lay just out of reach, beyond the door in front of him.

After a few minutes of careful thought and close examination, it was clear that there was no secret switch or even any kind of visible lock that he could try and pick. The door had clearly been manufactured with the sole purpose of making it so that it would only open if initiated from the opposite side. Noctis was fairly confident that he could use his warp strike to break down the door with sheer brute force, but that would instantly alert Eldrith and whoever else was in the room of his presence seeing as doors with multiple interior locks don’t just randomly explode off their hinges because they feel like it.

Now finding himself at a dead end, the frustrated prince was seriously considering the idea of regrouping back to his suite and trying to figure out another way to gain access to the room without the aforementioned plan to just blow the door away, when he heard something that made his blood instantly run ice cold.

Without any warning, the unsteady silence that had taken hold since Eldrith had disappeared was shattered when Noctis heard a desperate, agonized and pain-filled scream. The worst part? The voice was absolutely unmistakable and one that Noctis was very familiar with. There was no longer any doubt about what or who was hidden away behind this six-damned door.

From the moment that Noctis heard that ear-rending scream, the entire world around him seemed to move in slow motion. Unconsciously he built up as much energy within his body as he could possibly hold and it wasn’t but an instant later that the large and seemingly impenetrable door in front of him exploded off its hinges and hit the wall on the other side of the room with such force that the back wall was showered in an explosion of varied sizes of shrapnel and the remains of the multiple locking mechanisms lay mangled and useless on the floor.

The first thing that Noctis noted as his eyes scanned the room was that there was a group of tall, surly looking men in white lab coats crowded around a table in the far corner of the room. They had obviously been very consumed by what they had been doing before Noctis had barged in, and thus were so caught off guard that every single one of them was standing frozen in shock at the sudden intrusion.

The young prince was consumed in such a blind fury that he honestly wasn’t completely one hundred percent aware of what exactly he was doing. His body was moving as though it had been switched to autopilot and it had one singular and _very important_ goal in mind. To make these bastards pay for what they were doing to the person that had become an irreplaceable part of the entire past _decade_ of his life. It was in that split second of a moment that he didn’t give a shit anymore if there wasn’t _technically_ anything he could do to help Prompto. Locking someone away from the world was one thing, but those Niff bastards had crossed a line and Noctis was going to put a stop to it no matter what the cost.

Noctis warped to the group of scientists and before they could even blink, they were all on the floor knocked out cold. He grunted in frustration as the last one hit the floor, completely limp and unmoving. He hadn’t killed them, even though it was more than what those bastards deserved…. if it were up to him, he would have them killed in the slowest and cruelest way possible, just for them to see how it felt.

It was still true that tensions were high between Niflheim and Lucis and the last thing that his father needed was for his son, Crown Prince Noctis, to be accused of massacring a handful of Niflheim scientists. The fallout from such an action would all but guarantee an all-out war between not just the two nations, but Noctis would have also disgraced the highly regarded Lucis Caelum name. If that wasn’t bad enough, he had doubts that he would even be able to assume the throne at all after being branded a cold-blooded murderer. Least of all, he didn’t even want to think about what would happen to Prompto… there was no way that the blonde would come out of this situation any better than where he was at this moment, which would mean everything that he had done and sacrificed would be absolutely meaningless in the end. As much as Noctis wanted to tear these men’s skin from the bones and watch them suffer, he knew that the whole point of this was to protect Prompto, so anything that could compromise his safety was not allowed.

The only person in the room who even stood a semblance of a chance against the enraged Lucian Prince was Eldrith and even he was dispatched without much effort seeing as he had been caught off guard and was at the moment, completely unarmed. Noctis took particular satisfaction in delivering a swift uppercut to brunette’s jaw, causing him to get pushed off balance and quite conveniently smash his head on the floor as his body crumpled and he quickly lost consciousness.

The young Lucian prince finally stopped where he was and started looking around confused as he started to realize what his body had just done. It had happened so fast, he almost felt… disappointed. It was as though it was an unsatisfying and abrupt conclusion. He was usually so relaxed and composed, even during the toughest of training sessions with Gladio, but this time…? This had been way different from anything he had ever experienced before. His mind had simply snapped in the heat of the moment and although Noctis couldn’t really say he had been proud of losing his cool like he did, he didn’t regret what he did.

Hearing Prompto like that…. his thoughts trailed off before his heart suddenly froze and he slowly refocused his line of sight over towards the table of which the scientist’s full attention had been on when he had first busted through the door.

“PROMPTO…!” Noctis gasped in fear of what state he would find his best friend in as he instantly warped to his side.

The second that Noctis rematerialized in front of the blonde he let out a long breath of disbelief. It was horribly and painfully obvious to the prince, even without having to talk to Prompto, what the scientists had been doing… but why?

A very bloody, bruised and deathly pale Prompto was tightly secured to the cold metal table with thick arm, neck and leg restraints that were drawn so tight, they were biting tightly into the flesh where they were attached as evidenced by the angry bruises sprouting where the pale flesh and cold metal contacted each other. The blonde’s skin was sporting large ugly bruises all over, combined with copious amounts of a mixture of fresh and long since dried blood. Noctis wasted no time in freeing all of the blonde’s limbs so that he was no longer restrained to the table like an animal.

It also seemed as though the scientists felt that Prompto’s threadbare clothing had been in the way as they had been performing whatever horrific tests they wanted, as he was lying on the table completely stripped of any kind of clothing whatsoever. However, what really genuinely scared the raven-haired prince was the sheer amount of blood that covered and was caked on all around his body and spattered on the large, metal table where he was lying. There was so much blood everywhere that Noctis was terrified that he might already be too late. If he hadn’t heard Prompto’s scream moments earlier, Noctis would have been sure that he was looking at a corpse.   

With all of the additional lighting by the table, it was easier to see the fine details of every single bruise, burn, and laceration that currently decorated the vast majority of the blonde’s entire body. It made Noctis sick, and to think that that was just the stuff he could see on the outside… he couldn’t possibly imagine what kind of damage those bastards did on the inside.

“Prom…?” Noctis asked as he quickly discarded the long black coat he always wore and used it to cover the blonde as best he could. Very softly, Noctis tried to gently shake the Prompto’s shoulder in an attempt to rouse him. He had definitely been conscious mere moments ago, but must have passed out just before Noctis had broken down the door.

“Prompto…? Comon Prompto…” The frazzled prince begged, his voice desperate as he continued to try and rouse the unconscious blonde with no success. It was only a moment later that he noticed the blonde’s face start to twitch and heard a small moan as his entire body seemed to start trembling.

“…s-stop…pl…please… n-no…more…” a barely audible whisper pleaded with an imaginary tormentor.

“Shh… Prompto… I’m not going to hurt you. It’s me, Noct... you know that I would never do anything to hurt you.” Noctis whispered back in what he hoped was a calm and reassuring voice.

At the mention of his name, Prompto’s body seemed to completely freeze and a moment later he could see the blonde’s face start to twitch as the blonde struggled to slowly open his eyes. _It couldn’t be true… there was no way that Noct was here right now, right at this exact moment… he… he was back in Insomnia. He must be hallucinating, there was no way it could be true and that was what hurt the most. If Prompto opened his eyes and Noct wasn’t there… he… he just… he just wouldn’t be able to bear it._

“Comon Prompto, just open your eyes. I know you can do it. You need to see that it’s me. I promise you it’s not a lie, I’m really here.” Noctis continued to whisper supportively.

Finally, after the longest few seconds of Noctis’s entire life, he was met with two very tired and very dazed looking blue orbs. They seemed almost glazed over, as if there was some kind of haze that he couldn’t simply blink away. Noctis had guessed there was a possibility that the doctors could have given Prompto some kind of drug to make it easier to keep him under control, but there was no definitive way for him to tell for sure.

“There ya go. See? I promised I was real.” The prince assured his friend as he lightly squeezed the blonde’s hand.

“…n-noct…??” His voice was weak and unsteady as Prompto tried to process what exactly was actually going on. “b-but… how…?? h-how did y-you…? w-when… I d-don’t…” The blonde continued to mumble as large tears started streaming down his face, whether it was from relief or pain Noctis had no idea. The shattered blonde was too confused and too out of it to finish any kind of coherent thought, but it was all he could manage. His brain hurt, his entire body screamed… only a moment ago a group of ruthless and brutal men had been carving into him with looks that portrayed a sick sense of excitement and intrigue before he passed out. He had been certain that he was going to die right here in this lab, on the table like some sick sort of science experiment.

“I arrived in Niflheim not too long ago and I’ve been looking frantically for you ever since I ran straight to your cell and saw you weren’t there.” Noctis explained. He wanted to ask Prompto so many questions about what had happened, and what was going on, but he knew that the more important thing right now was to get Prompto out of here. There was no telling what would happen if they stayed here any longer. Not only could they get caught by other guards or scientists that knew about this room, but Prompto wasn’t going to last much longer if he didn’t get medical attention and fast.

Prompto continued to sob as he unconsciously clenched the soft material of the coat that Noctis had given him. Despite the fact that the raven-haired prince rescuing him from here seemed like some sort of miracle, he had never wanted the only person in this world to seemed to care a damn about him to see him quite like this.

Sure, he had always been a prisoner, sitting behind large iron bars with nothing but thread-bare clothes that seemed to be disintegrating before his very eyes, but at least he still had the dignity of being able to put on a strong front. Those doctors and scientists had stripped him not just of his clothes, but he felt like they took away his humanity. He had been experimented on and tortured by them… nothing more than a filthy test subject that was used up and ready to be thrown away.

That wasn’t even the worst part… the worst part was that he had now dragged Noct into this situation and as much as the raven-haired prince wanted to help, there was nothing that he could do. He was property of the empire… and there was no way that Noct would be able to get him out alive, no matter how much either of them wished it. Despite the fact that he had been temporarily saved, there was no doubt that his fate was inescapable.

“N-Noct… you s-shouldn’t have c-come…” the blonde wheezed between thick, gut-wrenching sobs. “I-I’m a p-prisoner of Niflheim… there’s n-nothing you c-can do…”

“You expect me to just stand by and let my best friend be murdered right in front of me?!?” The prince shouted. He felt the blonde jump at his harsh words, but Noctis had already decided that he was done with letting the Niffs do as they please where Prompto was concerned, and it was about time that Prompto realized that too.

“YOU CAN’T SAVE ME!” Prompto shouted back hysterically, finally losing his last shred of composure. There were so many feelings and thoughts running around in his muddled head, the blonde felt as though it was going to explode. Of course Prompto wanted and wished that Noct would save him and take him away from everything here more desperately than he had ever wanted anything in his entire life, but he just had to face the cold hard facts of life and they were that his fate was already sealed and there was nothing either of them could do about it.

“I DON’T CARE! I TOLD YOU, I’M NOT JUST GOING TO SIT HERE AND LET YOU FUCKING DIE!” Noctis shouted back. He had spent the last ten years watching Prompto wither away into nothing and he was done with it. He would fight the entire Niflheim army himself if it meant saving Prompto from this hell.

“---why…? w-why are you so damned stubborn…?” Prompto finally whispered and Noctis could have almost sworn that he had heard the softest bit of joking in his voice.

“Well I am the Prince of Lucis, am I not? And I whatever I want, I get.” Noctis grinned. “Now that we’re all in agreement, why don’t we get out of here?”


	5. One Step Forward, Two Steps Back

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for all the continued support to everyone that has expressed interest in this fic, whether it be by giving kudos, bookmarking, or commenting; I appreciate it all so much!
> 
> I apologize for the delay in getting this chapter out, I've been really busy for the past week getting back into the swing of things with work stuff, so I haven't had nearly as much time as I would have liked to work on my writing. :/
> 
> Anyways...! Hope you enjoy the chapter and comments are, as always, very much appreciated! :)

As soon as the sentiment was out of his mouth, Noctis had been fully expecting Prompto to quickly come back at him with some comment about being a spoiled brat, but the blonde remained silent and when he glanced down, the prince couldn’t help but utter a quick, “Shit.”

It seemed as though the blonde’s previous outburst must have really taken it out of him and before Noctis had even realized it, it seemed that the blonde had once again lost consciousness. The raven-haired prince had gotten lost in the sheer relief of joking with Prompto that he had almost forgotten how bad of shape the blonde was still in. He had to be in unimaginable amounts of pain right now and surely trying to rush Prompto secretly back to his room was only going to complicate things. Then again, Noctis really didn’t have much of a choice in the matter… if one thing was clear, it was that they _could not_ remain here.

Only leaving the blonde’s side for the shortest of moments, Noctis knew that he should probably do something about the Niffs he had just knocked out, and he certainly couldn’t forget about Eldrith. Noctis was pretty sure that they had only gotten the briefest glimpse of him before he managed to knock them out and he could only hope that they might have some trouble recalling certain specific details prior to blacking out. If they did recall what had happened, that would only serve to further complicate an already crazy complicated situation.

In his own defense, there really hadn’t been much time for the prince to brainstorm many alternative plans after he realized what was unfolding just beyond his own sight. Noctis also reasoned that he probably shouldn’t leave them completely to their own devices either, and after a quick sweep of the room, his focus was drawn to some discarded rope hanging up on some hooks on the far wall. While Noctis knew something as insignificant as a plain, woven rope wouldn’t be able to stop them for long, it should at least be able to slow them down and buy enough time for him to actually come up with some sort of plan on how to keep them away from Prompto once and for all.

Once Noctis was finished making sure the unconscious Niffs’ limbs were tightly secured, the raven turned his attention quickly back to the unconscious blonde, still lying deathly still on the cold metal table.

“I’m really sorry about this, Prom.” He apologized, despite the fact that he figured it was likely the blonde wouldn’t hear it. “Just bear with me for now okay? I promise I’m going to figure out some way to get you help.” As carefully as he possibly could, Noctis gathered the small blonde in his arms and lifted him so that Prompto’s head was now resting up against his own shoulder. The blonde moaned softly at the sudden movement, his eyelids proceeding to clench together with his lips forming a tight grimace as the prince jostled his countless injuries while attempting to situate him more securely. It disturbed Noctis to no uncertain end when he realized it would be impossible for him to carry Prompto in a way that wouldn’t irritate any of his injuries, so this was just going to have to be the best that he could do for now.

While it may have been child’s play for Noctis to get to the laboratory when he had been following Eldrith; it would certainly be no easy task now. Before, the raven had only needed to worry about concealing himself… he definitely hadn’t been trying to very carry a certain, seriously injured blonde along with him.

Needless to say, it was exhausting and a huge pain in his ass making Noctis’s way back to his suite. He had to very carefully monitor each new hallway and make absolutely sure the coast was clear before striding as quickly as he could to the next hallway and so on. There had been a few close calls with some patrolling sentries, but so far, Noctis had been able to remain hidden from any unwanted eyes (at least to his own knowledge) and had only needed to warp twice because of unexpected and/or sudden people or guards coming within the Lucian prince’s line of sight. It didn’t really help things that the sheer act of warping was _extremely_ difficult to manage when you had the weight of a whole other person weighing you down, even with Prompto being as frightfully light as he was.

With how cautious he had to be to avoid guards and anyone else that might wonder why he was running along carrying a seriously injured figure cloaked by nothing but the prince’s long black jacket, it had taken Noctis just over thirty minutes or so to finally find his way back to his room.

The exhausted raven had never been so happy to see those ridiculously intricate double doors beckon him forth. His arms were absolutely burning with the desire to fall limp and useless from the fatigue of running around with Prompto in tow for the past half-hour. As it was, Noctis had resisted the idea of putting the other male down for even the briefest of moments, just in the small chance that an unfriendly caught him off guard. While it may be true that the blonde was disturbingly light, Noctis hated to admit that he didn’t have anywhere near the muscle strength of let’s say, Gladio. Frankly, Noctis was surprised and pleased that he had been able to keep a hold of Prompto for as long as he had; it certainly didn’t help that all the adrenaline that had been previously flooding his system had all but dissipated his entire body was left almost trembling.

The goal that was first and foremost in the prince’s mind as he ambled unsteadily into his suite was to remain upright just long enough to be able to lay Prompto down as gently as he could manage on the spacious king-sized bed. Thankfully, the blonde barely stirred at this new movement. Although, at this point his face seemed to have now adopted a permanently grimaced expression as though he was locked away in a fitful slumber.

_Well…_ Noctis thought to himself, _by some freaking miracle I managed to get him back here without anyone noticing, but what now…? It’s not like I can just call up one of the palace doctors or anything… even if they didn’t actually know about Prompto, how would I explain how I have some random blonde kid lying half-dead on my bed? I can imagine that conversation not going well at all…_

Noctis had a certain amount of basic first-aid knowledge that he had learned from Ignis over the years, but that was just knowing very basic stuff, like cleaning up small cuts and bruises. He couldn’t help but let out a loud groan at the futility of his situation and secretly wished that Iggy had been more adamant and forceful about him learning more than just the bare bones. The whole ordeal of saving Prompto from that damned lab would mean nothing if he died anyway because of his injuries now. Where was the tall strategist when you really needed him??

As he debated with himself on what the best course of action forward would be, Noctis wandered over towards his suitcase and grabbed an extra set of boxers and a plain gray t-shirt, placing the clean clothes on the nightstand next to the bed where Prompto had now proceeded to try and curl in on himself, his body still trembling softly. Moments later, Noctis found himself wandering in the direction of the attached bathroom. Once inside, he turned the handle on the bathtub until he felt the water flowing, making sure that it was at a comfortable temperature that hopefully wouldn’t irritate Prompto’s injuries too much.

Once he decided the water temperature was passable, the prince walked back over towards the bed where Prompto was still lying. While silently apologizing to the blonde repeatedly, he took a deep breathe and once again hefted the blonde into his arms, bringing him back into the large bathroom.

Noctis hesitantly started to pull at the black jacket that he had previously given Prompto; his will almost breaking as the blonde unconsciously tried to feebly keep hold of the fabric which he still had clutched weakly to his chest. Forcing himself to push through the quiet whimpering from the blonde as the coat was peeled away, Noctis quickly discarded his own clothes and checked the temperature of the water one last time. With a bit of work, Noctis managed to situate the two of them so that they were both sitting in the bathtub, with Prompto lying gently back against the raven’s chest. Once satisfied, the raven grabbed a small washcloth that he had put aside earlier so that he could commence the task of carefully wiping off all the dried blood that had caked across the blonde’s pale flesh, while the steady stream of flowing water took care of all of the not-so-dried blood.

Every time he put the washcloth against Prompto’s skin, Noctis could feel the blonde unconsciously jerk away and moan, shying away from the unwanted touch, but as much as he wanted to stop causing Prompto discomfort, the raven knew that stopping now wasn’t an option. For what seemed like the hundredth time that day, Noctis could only frown as he continued to string together low muttered apologies as he finished wiping all the unwanted filth and grime off his best friend’s emaciated body.

Since they were already in the bathtub and Noctis was mostly satisfied with the job he had done with cleaning all of Prompto’s cuts and bruises; he decided that he should probably take advantage of the opportunity and try to wash out Prompto’s hopelessly matted and tangled mess of what was supposed to be bright, blonde hair. The raven-haired prince was pretty sure that proper hygiene was not something that the blonde had ever had the luxury of during his imprisonment these past ten plus years, so better late than never, right?

It took considerably longer than Noctis had anticipated to finish washing out Prompto’s hair to a point where it no longer looked like a fur ball that that been carelessly coughed up and dragged through the mud. Although when you have a long accumulation of years and years of dirt and muck, with countless other shit caked in, he realized he probably shouldn’t have expected anything less.

Right when Noctis was pretty sure he and Prompto were about to shrivel up into nothing, the sufficiently watered-down prince turned the handle on the shower until the water ceased and grabbed a large fluffy towel sitting right next to the bathtub. With just as much care as he had taken to get in, Noctis slowly maneuvered himself and Prompto until both bodies were perched on the raised side of the spacious bathtub. Taking great care, Noctis made sure he was able to sufficiently dry the blonde’s entire body who to the prince’s surprise, had somehow managed to remain asleep in his arms throughout the entire affair. Heaving the still disturbingly light body up and exiting the bathroom, Noctis carefully carried Prompto back over to his bed, laying him down on the soft and welcoming bedding.

After depositing Prompto on his bed, Noctis quickly walked over towards the suitcase that he had discarded almost immediately upon arriving and started digging around for the small first-aid kit that Ignis always insisted on him packing. He had never seen a use for it during any of his previous trips to Niflheim and thus, had made a point on several occasions to complain to Ignis that the thing was just a waste of space in his suitcase. I mean, even if he did get hurt, it wouldn’t exactly be hard for him to get help with all of his Crownsguard escorts posted around the palace. At this very moment however, Noctis was so eternally grateful that Ignis had been so hardheaded about the issue and had ultimately forced him to continue to pack the small first-aid kit. If he hadn’t, Noctis would have absolutely nothing to help Prompto right now. The young prince silently noted that he would have to do something to thank his stubborn advisor once he got back to Insomnia and fished around in the small pouch before pulling out a bunch of disinfectant and bandages.

Noctis walked back over to the bed and almost dropped everything he had been carrying before carefully placing them on top of the clothes he had set out before when he realized that Prompto’s eyes were no longer clenched shut. They were parted just enough for Noctis to see the dull blue orbs that seemed to look straight up to the ceiling with a glassy and unseeing stare.

“Prompto…? Hey, are you with me?” Noctis uttered softly, not wanting to startle him.

“… noct…?” A small and pained voice managed to rattle out against his uneven breathing. “….w-where am I? I don’t-” the blonde bit back a moan of pain as he struggled to understand what exactly was going on. The last thing that Prompto remembered was being on that table and feeling the most pain that he had ever felt in his life before finally being granted his wish for it to cease as the numbing blackness had claimed him.

“It’s okay, Prompto. I managed to track you down and took out those bastards that were hurting you.” Noctis continued softly so as not to startle him any more than he already was. “I brought you back to the suite that I’ve been staying in and believe me when I say that I’m not going to let them touch you ever again.” He finished bitterly.

“But…” Prompto started, before Noct quickly cut him off.

“I don’t care that I’m not supposed to do anything.” Noctis interjected adamantly. “I’ve had enough of that bullshit to last an eternity, and I’ve decided that I’m going to protect you no matter the cost. So… so you’re just going to have to learn to deal with it.” The prince finished as he softly ruffled the blonde’s now clean, yet still damp hair playfully.

Prompto had no idea what to say to that. He wanted to stay with Noct, there was no question about that. Noct had been the only person in his entire life that had ever shown him any sort of kindness… but wanting something and it being reality were two very different things.

“As glad as I am that you are awake, I still need to disinfect all your cuts and whatnot so they don’t get infected. I hate to say it, but it’s probably going to sting a little bit.” Noctis frowned, hating the idea of causing even the least bit of more pain for the blonde… he had already been through so much already and to add even the smallest amount of pain was something the raven would do anything to avoid at this point. Unfortunately, it would only hurt Prompto more in the long run if he did nothing.

The blonde’s body started to tremble as he braced himself for the oncoming pain. He knew that this was absolutely nothing compared to what he had had to endure in that horrible lab, but he was still scared, and at this point, he just wanted all of the pain to stop. Finally, taking a moment to let out a few shaky breaths, Prompto nodded tersely in acknowledgement as he started to bite down nervously on his lower lip in anticipation of what was to come.

“I’ll go as fast as I can, and then you can get some more sleep okay…?” Noctis apologized before he commenced cleaning and wrapping all of Prompto’s injuries. The blonde did about as well as the prince could have possibly expected, moaning and trembling here and there while he waited for what felt like every single part of his body to stop stinging from the disinfectant.

Things only got bad when Noctis moved to start working on the blonde’s right foot and the moment the prince went to touch the area around his ankle, Prompto let out a sharp yelp and yanked the appendage quickly away from Noctis’s grasp.

“…p-please…noct… don’t… don’t touch there…” The blonde begged, new streams of tears making their way down his face as he tried to fight back to urge to scream outright.

“Prompto…what’s wrong? What did they do?” Noctis asked as he tried unsuccessfully to hold back his anger. The bitterness in his voice wasn’t directed at the blonde, but really… what was the purpose of it all??

“I um- well… when they dragged me o-out of my cell the f-first time… I-I fought… I-I tried t-to get away… but it d-didn’t do anything but m-make them more a-angry…” The blonde managed to grit between labored breaths. “T-They punished me b-by breaking my ankle… s-so I couldn’t try to r-run away again… they said it was the l-least of what I d-deserved…”

“Shit, Prompto….” Noctis uttered in disbelief, before quickly realizing something and looking back at the blonde. “Wait, what do you mean the first time…? You mean today wasn’t the first time this has happened???”

The blonde smiled sadly as he saw the pity on his friend’s face and almost would have laughed if he wasn’t in so much pain from the throbbing of his broken ankle. “A few w-weeks ago these men I had never seen before d-dragged me out of my cell… they s-said that they thought they had f-found a way to k-kill me and p-prevent the reincarnation, so t-they needed to r-run some t-tests…” Prompto’s voice was shaky and unsteady as the memories from the first time that they had pulled him from his cell came flashing back through his head. “I s-stopped keeping track after the t-tenth time or so… I’m s-sorry that I b-broke our p-promise.. I w-wasn’t t-there...” After that, the blonde started breathing in quick, pained gasps, trying and failing to normalize his breathing at Noct’s insistence, while also slowly being overcome by the exhaustion of simply staying awake and trying to explain himself.

“Don’t you worry about that, Prom. It wasn’t your fault; none of this is…” Noctis insisted as he placed a comforting and assuring hand on Prompto’s shoulder. He had managed to do just about everything he could think of to help for the time being. Well, except for wrapping Prom’s ankle, but he had no idea where to even start tackling that bear of a problem. From what Prompto had said, it must have been broken a few weeks ago… so it had probably already partially healed and the prince highly doubted that those Niff bastards had made sure that the ankle had been properly set to ensure the bone healed correctly. That meant that there probably wasn’t that much he could do right now even if he wanted to.

Ideally, Noctis really needed to get someone in here that could actually help Prompto more than just wrapping up all of his injuries. The raven’s thoughts once again returned to his always dependable and helpful advisor. If only Ignis had been cleared to accompany him to Niflheim… he would know exactly what to do. Damn… even Gladio would have more helpful than the prince felt right now. The older and stronger Lucian had a pretty extensive amount of experience when it came to treatment while in unusual or unfriendly territory; he was the prince’s shield after all. It was practically part of the job to know how to assess a situation and be able to take measures to ensure the safety of his charge, and if that meant doing immediate damage control in the heat of battle, then so be it.

“I guess I don’t really have much of a choice but to leave the ankle for now… at least until we can figure out some way to fix it properly.” Noctis concluded as Prompto let out a shaky sigh and closing his eyes briefly in relief. Prompto knew deep down that this was something he would have to deal with eventually, and it would probably only get worse the longer he waited, but he just didn’t think he would be able to deal with that kind of pain right now; coupled with the fact that the rest of his entire body seemed to be doing nothing but radiating pain right. As long as Prompto didn’t try to move his ankle or as long as Noctis didn’t touch it, it seemed to be leveling out at a dull throbbing.

“Okay, now that that’s taken care of, I’m sure you probably want to get into some clean clothes…” Noctis noted as his torso twisted slightly to the left so that he could grab the folded clothes still lying where he had left them on the nightstand. “I didn’t see your clothes in the room that I found you in, and to be honest those things were barely holding together, so you can just borrow some of mine for now.”

It was then that realization hit Prompto and he remembered that he was currently lying on Noct’s bed with nothing else to cover him except for the long black coat he had been holding tightly since he had woken up. A furious blush overcame the blonde’s cheeks as he attempted to obscure his face in embarrassment. He had previously been so consumed by the pain and distracted by trying to explain what had happened, that he had failed to remember how he had been completely stripped of all his clothing for the experiments in the lab.

Prompto was pretty sure that it was impossible die of shame, because he definitely would have at that moment if it had been. To be honest, it wasn’t like Prompto had looked nice or more presentable when he had been talking with Noct during all those years in his cell, but at least Noct had never seen him so exposed. The blonde had hoped that he could retain some shred of dignity while in the presence of the one who seemed to think that he was worth something… but like everything else he held dear, it was gone and could never be reclaimed.

Noctis could see the uneasiness building in Prompto’s face and it wasn’t hard to guess why the blonde had suddenly become so withdrawn. “If you tried to do it yourself, you would just re-open your wounds…” he reasoned, “I promise it will go much faster if I help you… and it will probably be a lot less painful too.” He finished, while Prompto’s bright red face was now half-hidden in the prince’s jacket, unconvinced. “We’re best friends aren’t we…?” Noct tried again, “I know you probably won’t believe it, but I would trust you to do the same if I were in your position. It’s just me here and I promise you’ll be much more comfortable once you get into some clean clothes-”

“Just do it...” Prompto quickly moaned. He was so exhausted at this point that he wanted to just get it over with and go to sleep. Sure, it would be awkward for a few seconds, but at least it was just Noct and not those bastard doctors…

Noctis nodded and pulled out the pair of boxers he had already set aside. He let Prompto keep the jacket covering him as much as possible as he tried to get the blonde’s legs through the appropriate openings without jolting Prompto’s injured ankle. There were a few pained gasps and some heavy breathing from the blonde, but before too long Noctis was able to pull the boxers up to hug the blonde’s hips. They ended up being considerably looser than Noctis had hoped they would be, but he couldn’t say that he was all that surprised with Prompto being as malnourished and sickly skinny as he was. “They might be a little big on you, but they’ll work for now.” Noctis noted as he went to grab the black jacket that was still covering the blonde so that he would be able to help Prompto into the plain gray t-shirt.

“…thanks.” Prompto replied softly.

“Okay, last matter of business is the shirt, then you need to get some rest while I figure out what our next move is.” Noctis noted while Prompto merely nodded as exhaustion was quickly overwhelming his ability to stay conscious. The dark-haired Prince carefully pulled Prompto up into a semi sitting position, before carefully guiding his head and arms into the proper openings so that he could pull the shirt down to cover his thin frame.

“Okay, buddy. That’s it for now, get some rest and I promise I’ll be here when you wake up.” Noctis assured the blonde whose eyes were closed and his breathing was already starting to even out. The prince wouldn’t be surprised if he was already asleep. He would easily bet some big money that Prompto hadn’t been able to get much sleep since the Niffs had been making house calls to his cell in the months since Noctis has last visited.

In fact, sleep actually sounded quite inviting at the moment, but he didn’t dare fall asleep for fear that someone might walk into his room and find Prompto just lying here right out in the open and freak out. With that in mind, the Noctis walked over towards the large double doors and checked to make sure the doors were locked. It was a pretty insignificant attempt to keep out any unwanted guests, but it was better than nothing, he reasoned.

Once he thought about it, he probably shouldn’t have brought Prompto somewhere where he was so vulnerable and well, obvious… the moment anyone entered his room, they would easily have full line of sight of the beaten and bruised blonde. This would undoubtedly bring forth a fountain of questions that Noctis wouldn’t be able to answer. God forbid if someone tried to take him away… this only reassured the Lucian prince that he really needed to start thinking about some kind of contingency plan in case such a thing actually happened. Noctis would definitely have to think on it, but for right now, Prompto had just managed to fall asleep and the Lucian prince didn’t have the heart to wake him up and try to move him just yet.

There were still a few hours before Cor and his father would be expecting him for dinner, so for right now Noctis was content with pulling one of the plush armchairs up next to the large bed where Prompto was sleeping and pulled out the very same book he had intended to give the blonde in the first place. Quickly distracted from the book however, Noctis simply sat there in his chair, entranced by the steady rise and fall of the blonde’s chest. The fall and rise which reassured the young Lucian prince that the first and only genuine friend had was still with him, even after everything that he had been through in the past few weeks.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Time passed by surprisingly quickly and before Noctis knew it, it was almost time for him to rendezvous with Cor and his father for dinner. The raven was still very at odds with the idea of leaving Prompto all by himself, so after thinking over his options he finally picked up his phone and dialed Cor’s number.

“Noctis…? Is something wrong?” The marshal answered quickly after picking up after just the first ring.

“No.” Noctis replied flatly. “Well, nothing big…”

“Spit it out already, kid. Your father and I are in the middle of wrapping things up with the Emperor so we can break for dinner. I can’t have you wasting my time if its’s not an urgent matter.” Cor replied, a tone of annoyance clear in his voice.

“Yeah, about that… I was hoping you could let my dad know that I’m not going to be able to make it to dinner tonight. I haven’t been feeling all that great today and I was hoping to just stay in my room and try to get to sleep a little early tonight to see if that helps at all.” Noctis lied, trying to sound as tired and sick as he could, and the whole tired things really wasn’t that hard to pull off, seeing as the raven was truthfully pretty exhausted, both physically and emotionally.

“Hmmm… well, your Father will be disappointed, but I guess there’s not much to be done about that.” Cor replied. He didn’t sound particularly convinced, but he had also not insisted on Noctis reconsidering, so that had to stand for something.

Noctis was about to thank the Marshal and hang up when a thought struck him and he quickly added, “Do you think you could have someone send up some soup to my room? I’m not really feeling anything that’s too over the top, but I think a little soup might help settle my stomach…”

Noctis heard the man on the other end of the line groan and mumble something that he couldn’t make out, but he soon heard a concise, “I’ll see what I can do,” before the line went dead.  

Noctis was pretty surprised with how quick the dish was brought up to his room and the moment he heard the light knock on the door, he jumped up, being extra careful to keep the door as closed as possible so that the young woman delivering the soup wouldn’t be able to catch a glance of the unexpected, occupant currently sleeping in what was supposed to be Noctis’s bed.

Prompto had yet to wake since he had fallen asleep a few hours ago, and Noctis was almost tempted to let him continue to do so since he was sure that the blonde needed all the sleep he could get. However, Noctis also had absolutely no idea when the last time Prompto had eaten anything with any sort of significant nutritional value; he would bet anything that it couldn’t have been anytime recently, if ever.

Knowing he really couldn’t put it off, the prince reluctantly made his way over towards the blonde that was still seemingly dead to the world. Although, as he closed the space between the two of them, he noticed that the blonde’s lips were moving slightly and he seemed to be muttering something, but it was too quiet for Noctis to be able to make anything out. His face seemed strained and his body seemed restless as his head kept turning and tossing on his pillow as though he were struggling against some unseen force above him.

“Prompto…? Hey Prom, wake up.” Noctis urged the blonde as he started to lightly shake his shoulder in an attempt to rouse him.

At first Prompto didn’t seem to respond at all and Noctis was a little worried that he wouldn’t be able to wake him up. After another few seconds of continually trying to shake him a bit more vigorously, Prompto’s body jerked violently, his eyes shot open, and he shied away from the raven’s outstretched hand as though it had burned him.

Prompto looked dazed and his eyes were glassy as though his body had woken up, but his mind was still trapped within the nightmare. “…I’m sorry... I’m sorry… I’m sorry... p-please… please don’t-”

“Prompto, it’s okay. It’s just me, Noct.” The Prince spoke in a calm and level voice. “You were having a bad dream, but it’s okay, you’re safe now. I would never do anything to hurt you, you know that.” Noctis finished as softly as he could, hoping to calm the startled blonde.

At the sound of the prince’s soft and reassuring voice, Prompto seemed to relax slightly and after taking another few seconds to look around and realize that Noct was saying was in fact true, the blonde almost melted back against the pile of pillows that he had been previously sleeping on.

“Sorry…” he muttered sadly, unable to make eye-contact with the raven-haired boy next to him. “…I bet you really regret saving someone as useless and broken as me now that you’ve seen how pathetic I really am-”

“That’s not true…!” Noctis practically shouted back. “You’re not pathetic, you’re not useless and you’re certainly not broken. Yeah, you may have had to endure horrific things that most people could only imagine… the things you have had to overcome would reduce even the strongest men to tears. But you know what…? You are still alive and still fighting. In my book, that means you’re incredibly strong; much stronger than I could ever hope to be.”

“But you-” Prompto started to argue before Noct intentionally ignored him and continued on, refusing to allow Prompto to continuing beating himself up about this when he was already dealing with so much already.

“These past ten years I’ve always admired how you never let the fact that you were destined to be confined to that ridiculous cell for the rest of your life get the best of you.” Noctis continued with a confidence and assurance that absolutely mystified Prompto. “They basically used you as a fucking lab rat and performed procedures on you in the worst ways imaginable, but you’re STILL HERE. I know I would never be able to get through something like that myself and still be alive let alone sane after the fact. So try to give yourself a little more credit, okay?”

Prompto constantly continued to be stunned by the things that Noct said and did. It was astonishing how the raven always seemed have such blind faith in someone like him. It was absurd, and Prompto didn’t deserve it, but he also didn’t want all of Noct’s efforts and kindness to be in vain. So maybe… just maybe, he could try and make it through all of this; if for no other reason than to pay the raven-haired prince back for his constant and unwavering faith in him.

“O-Okay…I’ll… I’ll try.” Prompto stuttered, nodding slightly as he went to wipe the tears that had started forming in his eyes before they started flowing and he would no longer be able to stop them.

Noctis’s face lightened considerably, now going to grasp the small bowl of soup that had set on the nightstand. “Now then, back to business.” He started. “I thought it was pretty safe to assume that it’s been awhile since you’ve had anything substantial to eat, so I told one of my Crownsguard that I wasn’t feeling good and to send up some soup for me, but it’s for you of course. You really need to try and get some food in that emaciated stomach of yours, unless you want to keel over in my bed tonight. That would certainly make for an interesting story in the morning…” the Lucian prince chuckled lightly.

While it was true that Prompto had been eating the leftover meals that Noctis would sneak down to him during his visits, even then, Prompto would usually try to spread the food out to last as long as possible and that meant he never usually had more than a few bites at a single time. When Noct wasn’t visiting, which was unfortunately most of the time, the blonde had had to make do with the absolute bare rations. These usually ended up being a small, rock-hard blob of bread and a small cup of water if he was lucky. Prompto wasn’t quite sure if he should actually feel hungry or not, but he did have to admit that the warm and enticing aroma wafting up and tickling his nose smelled amazing and he couldn’t help but nod in silent agreement. Letting out a sigh of relief, Noct was careful to place the soup securely in Prompto’s lap, letting go only when he was convinced that it wouldn’t spill.

“Are you going to be okay, eating by yourself?” The raven asked, already having a pretty good idea of what Prompto’s response was going to be.

“I should at least be able to eat some soup by myself… I’m not that useless.” Prompto replied, sounding a lot more confident than he actually felt, but Noct had already done so much for him already and he sure as hell wasn’t going to just sit there and be spoon-fed like a lost and hapless child.

“Good to know.” Noctis laughed, while still being careful to keep his focus on the small bowl, getting ready to jump at a moment’s notice in case it looked as though it might spill.

Prompto hesitantly raised his right arm and grasped the spoon as firmly as he could manage. He took great care in dipping the small, silver utensil in the soup before bringing it gingerly to his parched lips and swallowing the warm broth with a satisfied sigh. The moment Prompto swallowed that first spoonful, his face instantly lit up. He quickly swallowed another spoonful of the sweet tasting soup, each additional spoonful causing a feeling of spreading warmth throughout his body, a luxury he didn’t often enjoy.

“It’s… delicious...” Prompto almost moaned and Noct couldn’t help but grin as he watched the blonde bring yet another spoonful to his mouth before greedily swallowing it.

“Just make sure you don’t go too fast, or push yourself to eat too much. You don’t want to overwhelm your stomach with such a sudden change in the amount of food you’re ingesting, or you’ll make yourself sick.” Noctis warned the blonde who gulped down a few more sips before resting the spoon back in the bowl.

“It’s so good, I wanna drink the entire thing…” Prompto moaned. “I’ve barely made a dent in it and I’m already feeling full… I’m already starting to feel a little nauseous and I can’t seem to figure out if it is because I’m still so hungry or because I feel as though I’m going to explode…”

“Don’t worry about it, Prom. It’s just going to take a while for your body to become accustomed to eating regular meals. Once you do that, you’ll be able to eat anything you want.” Noctis smiled as he took the still very full bowl from the pouting blonde and covered it before walking over and placing it in the small mini-fridge located in the sitting area.

“Yeah, I guess…” Prompto sighed as he let out a huge yawn, settling himself back against the sea of pillows behind his head. “Noct..?” he mumbled tiredly.

“Yeah?”

“Thanks...” The blonde mumbled even more softly as he buried his head into the soft pillows, falling asleep almost instantly.

“Anytime, Prom. Anytime.” Noctis smiled as he pulled the soft bedsheet to cover Prompto up to the shoulders to make sure he wouldn’t get cold during the night as nights in Niflheim were certainly no joke.

After checking to make sure that Prompto was indeed asleep, Noctis suddenly realized how tired he was as well. After all, it had been quite the uh, _eventful_ day. With a quick yawn, the young prince decided to plant himself on the large couch in the sitting area and turned on the TV to find some random show to watch for a bit before quickly dozing off himself.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Noctis was woken up the next morning by an uncharacteristically bright light emanating from his bedroom window. _Well, I guess Gralea can’t be dark and gloomy all 365 days out of the year, right?_ He though to himself. _There has to be one or two sunny days hidden in there every once in a while…_

The still half-asleep prince slowly stretched and after taking a moment to collect himself, he glanced blearily at his watch, surprised at how long he had actually slept. Noctis was pretty used to sleeping late, but after going to bed so early last night, he certainly didn’t think that it would quarter to noon by the time he woke up. He was incredibly tempted to sit his ass back on the couch and go right back to sleep, but it was pretty late and he reasoned that he should probably check on Prompto to see if he was still doing okay. He hoped that Prompto had also had a restful night and his sleep hadn’t been plagued with the nightmares that had been taunting him the previous day.

Noctis slowly trudged his way over to the bed and luckily it seemed as though Prompto was thankfully resting peacefully at the moment. He didn’t even have the same pained expression that he had the previous night when Noctis had woken him up to eat.

Things seemed pretty quiet and Noctis was thankful for that. “Perhaps I should take advantage of this downtime to clean up a bit myself… I haven’t had a chance to take a shower or anything since saving Prompto the day before. Well, unless you count when I was cleaning him up in the bathtub right after we got back...” He chuckled to himself as he grabbed a set of clean clothes from his suitcase and headed for the large bathroom connected to the rest of his absurdly spacious suite.

After taking one step into the hot shower, Noctis decided that choosing to take a shower had to be one of the best decisions that he had ever made in his life. The hot water felt glorious as it soothed and relaxed his tired body, seemingly washing all his worries and stress along with all of the dirt, muck and grime. After what felt like the longest shower of his life, the newly revitalized raven finally decided he should probably get out before every inch of his body completely shriveled up like a prune. He had just gotten his change of clothes on and was debating whether he wanted to put forth the effort to try and do anything with his hair when he suddenly heard something that shot a chill down his spine.

Noctis suddenly heard a familiar and very terrified voice screaming his name desperately as though his life depended on it. At first, Noctis thought that Prompto was in the midst of another harrowing nightmare, but he could just make out another voice mixed in between the frantic and distressed calls for help that first caught his attention. The second voice was also very familiar, however much lower-pitched than the first, and there was no mistaking that it was _very, very_ angry.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just recently started up a tumblr, so if you want to talk or just squeal at the adorableness that is Promptis or just ffxv in general, feel free to pop on over and say hi! I pretty much spend most of my time fangirling about random ffxv stuff and will also try to updates on my writing and whatnot.
> 
> Tumblr: [ever-at-your-side-15](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/ever-at-your-side-15)


	6. Confrontation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow... I am SO sorry about the delay in getting out this chapter...! Between work stuff and prepping for Promptis Week (which was SO much fun btw, and I was super happy that I managed to get out one prompt for each day, since that was my goal) I really didn't have any time at all to work on anything for this story. Now that I've posted all of my Promptis Week fics though, I should have a lot more time to continue working on this one! :)
> 
> Thanks for everyone who has stuck with me so far, I hope you enjoy the chapter!

Noctis rushed out of the bathroom as quickly as he could and soon found himself face to face with his worst nightmare. Right in front of his eyes was a very angry Cor pinning an absolutely terrified Prompto to the wall by his neck and arm, Cor’s furious face mere inches from Prompto’s own.

“Noct…! H-Help…! P-Please…! NOCT...!!” Prompto screamed frantically, large tears quickly streaming down his face as his voice shook, waves of pure and unbridled terror running through every fiber of his being, shaking the Lucian prince to the core. Prompto was quickly silenced as Cor ruthlessly shoved his thin frame forcefully against the wall behind him causing the blonde’s head to thwack loudly against the unforgiving surface.

“How dare you address his highness, like that!” The man roared. “You keep your focus on me, and tell me what the bloody hell a filthy MT is doing in Prince Noctis’s room?!?!” Cor demanded harshly. “You have exactly two seconds to explain yourself before I slit your damned throat!”

“I’m… I’m not…! I swear… I d-didn’t…! I w-wasn’t… p-please…!” The blonde choked through the tears as his voice caught in his throat. His head was pounding from Cor previously throwing it against the wall, coupled with the absolute terror consuming him, which made it all but impossible for him to craft any kind of reply that would keep this man from killing him without a second thought. Prompto’s mind was so dazed and his brain completely muddled, causing the inability for him to think straight as he tried desperately to form some kind of coherent thought so that this man wouldn’t follow through on his threats.

“COR! WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU THINK YOUR DOING?!?” Noctis yelled furiously from where he was standing before instantly warping over to where the two figures were standing. “LET HIM GO!”

“Stand back, Your Highness. You have no idea what you’re dealing with here.” Cor shot back, refusing to back down. “This _thing_ is a specially designed and built Magitek Trooper and he would not hesitate to strike you down the moment you turn your back. All the proof you need is to look at the outside of the right wrist,” Cor motioned as he forced Prompto’s arm up, holding it completely still so that his barcode was clearly visible. “The barcode is how the Empire marks its Magitek Troopers, and this one’s is as clear as day.”

“You’re the one who doesn’t know what you’re talking about Cor! As the Crown Prince of Lucis, I demand that you release Prompto _at once_ or I will have my father court-marshal you for insubordination!” Noctis demanded as forcefully as he could manage. “I promise I’ll explain everything, but first, you need to LET. PROMPTO. GO.”

Cor hesitated for a moment, confusion decorating his battle-worn features as though he was having a very concentrated internal battle with himself while Noctis could only hold his breath. If Cor simply chose to ignore him, there wouldn’t be much more that he could do. He was certainly no match for the marshal, his nickname was “Cor the Immortal” for a reason. Even with that being said, it didn’t mean that Noctis would simply let him have his way with Prompto. He had made a promise to keep the blonde safe… and Noctis intended to keep that promise to the absolute best of his ability.

After a tense few moments, which to Noctis felt like an absolute eternity, Cor finally relinquished his grasp on the blonde and Prompto collapsed almost instantly to the floor as his injured right ankle buckled uselessly beneath him, unable to support even a fraction of his own weight.

Despite the fact that Prompto was unable to move without a sharp stabbing and searing pain shooting through his ankle, his fear of this new and very hostile stranger trumped everything and as quickly as he possibly could, he maneuvered himself, albeit quite awkwardly, so that his form was hidden behind Noct’s as much as he could possibly manage. Prompto was still shaking uncontrollably, even with Noctis acting as a human barrier between himself and the other man, who the prince clearly knew. He was so genuinely terrified after suddenly being woken up so harshly that he couldn’t even look forward past Noctis, for fear that he would catch the older man’s hateful glare.

“Don’t you even think about laying another finger on him.” Noctis demanded, very aware of how skittish Prompto must be feeling right now as the blonde seemed to have one of his legs in some sort of death grip as though he was expecting Cor to once again launch himself at him at any second.

“I advise you to get to that explanation of yours quickly then, and it better be good or I will take care of that thing myself, with or without you standing in my way.” Cor grunted impatiently.

“First of all, his name is Prompto and he’s not a thing.” Noctis snapped as he felt the blonde’s body instantly tense and heard a low whimper that only could have come from one person in the room.

Cor still looked unconvinced and even more impatient than he had been a moment ago, so Noctis took that as his cue to start explaining. He thought that it would probably to best to just start from the beginning, so he told Cor about how he had been dragged down to Prompto’s secluded and hidden jail cell during his first trip to Niflheim when he was eight. He also told Cor about going back to the cell the day before they left and how he had finally gotten Prompto to talk to him, promising that he would come back and visit again anytime he visited Niflheim with his dad. That alone was the reason that for the next ten years Noctis had always been so dedicated to coming to the Niflheim Peace Talks with him and his father. While Cor and his father were muddled in the middle of all those peace talk meetings, Noctis would spend as much time as he could possibly could talking and hanging out with the blonde, if you could even call it that.

“I can’t say I’m all that surprised…” The Marshal mused as he carefully considered everything that the young prince had just revealed to him. “I knew there had to be something else other than the Peace Talks drawing you here... it certainly explains your brash behavior and outburst after you heard from Ignis that your father was considering calling them off.” Noctis held his breath as Cor continued talking… this was going too well… he had a bad feeling about where Cor was going with this. “However... that does not change the fact that that boy is still a prisoner of Niflheim.” Cor finished coldly.

 _There it is…_ The prince groaned as he thought to himself.

“I realize that.” Noctis replied defiantly. “If I didn’t, don’t you think I would have done something when we first met, ten years ago??”

“And now…?” the Marshal responded plainly.

Noctis then proceeded to tell Cor about how he had rushed down to the hidden cell block right after they had arrived yesterday to find Prompto missing and he also talked about how he had confronted Eldrith and proceeded to follow him to the lab where he had finally found and rescued Prompto. Noctis felt a bit guilty revealing the specifics about how he had found the blonde and what the Niffs had been doing while said blonde was right there, still clutching his leg tightly; but Cor needed to know everything if Noctis stood a chance of convincing him not to instantly hand Prompto back to the Niffs.

“Hmmm….” Cor hummed to himself, continuing to take in everything the young prince had just told him. “I knew Niflheim was known to be doing some pretty dubious stuff, but something like this…? It’s hard to swallow.” He paused. “I understand why you did what you did…” the older male paused yet again as though he was carefully considering how he should continue. “But again; despite learning about this young man’s situation… it still doesn’t change the fact that he is a prisoner of Niflheim and as much as I feel for his situation, there just isn’t-”

“You can’t be serious Cor!” Noctis shouted, frustrated at how calm and composed Cor had been able to remain even after Noctis had told him everything. “If we don’t do anything _right now_ , Prompto is as good as dead! There HAS to be something you can do to help get Prompto out of here…!” The raven-haired prince pleaded desperately.

As if things could not possibly get any worse… before Cor had even the slightest chance to reply, the large double doors to the bedroom practically flew open with a force that nearly tore the doors off their hinges.

“What the-?” Noctis gasped as both he and Cor instantly turned to face the open door and see who had barged into the large bedroom this time. Cor moved almost instantaneously, placing himself in front of the young prince out of pure habit, just in case.

“See? Didn’t I tell you that we would find the bastard and his newest pet here?” The angry voice of Eldrith filled the room as he stormed inside, his eyes instantly focusing on Noctis and the blonde boy that was still cowering behind him. He was accompanied by a handful of MTs and another older looking man that seemed almost familiar to Noctis, even though he was convinced the two of them had never actually met.

Before Noctis had a chance to even think about why this man seemed so familiar, he was pulled from his thoughts when he heard a quick gasp and intake of breath as Prompto, who was still hiding behind him and had now started frantically muttering to himself.

“N-No…. it c-c-can’t be…” Prompto whispered in disbelief. “N-Not him… n-not n-now…! W-w-why… is he…?” Anything after that was completely unintelligible and Noctis couldn’t figure out why this man of all people would affect Prompto in such a way. Noctis’s thoughts drifted back to their very first meeting and it hit him like a ton of bricks… he only remembered seeing pictures of this man prior to his arrival to the capital, but not one time had he ever seen him in person… the Lead Researcher and head of the entire Magitek Engineering Division for Niflheim, Verstael Besithia, and Prompto’s biological father.

Noct silently decided to himself that Cor finding Prompto hadn’t been the worst-case scenario. This… this definitely took the cake for literally the shittiest thing that possibly could have happened at this very moment in time. How the hell were they going to get out of this one, he had absolutely no idea.

With all the chaos that had been going on between Noctis trying to help Prompto and then having to deal with Cor, Noctis had completely forgotten about all of the people that he had attacked in the lab he had infiltrated yesterday… it seemed as though Eldrith had finally woken up and managed to escape the bonds that Noctis had used to tie him up before he left.

In hindsight, Noctis knew that he probably should have tried to secure the other prince with something a little stronger than just some simple rope, but to be honest, no matter what he might have done, the Niflheim prince would have been found eventually, so he assumed this confrontation was inevitable… but that was just something that Noctis just hadn’t cared enough to think about, being as preoccupied as he was with trying to help Prompto.

“What the hell do you want?” Noctis spat at the very uncharacteristically disheveled Niflheim prince who was livid and looked as though he was about to pop an artery. His normally perfectly straightened and pressed clothes looking immaculate behind his sleek and spotless armor was now dirty, wrinkled and even ripped in numerous places. His usual armor must have been discarded as he had escaped the bonds that Noctis has secured him with; and his hair, which had always been perfectly smoothed back and was now hanging in forgotten strands that hung loosely across his eyes, though he seemed to pay it no mind.      

“Don’t play dumb, you bastard.” Eldrith hissed back as his attention moved from Noctis, to the still shaking blonde behind him. “Step aside and give me back my property…” he finished as he nodded towards Prompto, who couldn’t help but let out another loud whimper, attempting to bury himself even further behind Noct’s figure.

“Prompto is no-one’s property!” Noctis replied, clenching his fists at his side in anger.

Eldrith laughed before replying, “And that’s where your wrong little Mr. High and Mighty. That _thing_ is a prisoner of Niflheim and _I_ am the prince of Niflheim, ergo he _is_ my property.”

Noctis would never be able to understand how one person could talk about another in such a way and believe themselves to be in the right… it was disgusting. Noctis was about to quickly retort when his ears perked up drawing his attention once again to the short and quickened breathing that had now suddenly sped up behind him. The young prince turned around as quickly as he could, kneeling down so that he could look a clearly terrified Prompto directly in the eyes.

“Prompto, I need you to look at me, okay?” Noctis said in a soft but confident tone and after a few seconds Prompto complied and lifted his head so that his soft blue eyes could finally make contact with Noct’s. “I know you’re scared, but you need to take a take a deep breath and try to calm down, okay? If you keep up like this, you’re going to start hyperventilating.” The blonde was still shaking, but he slowly nodded his head and started trying to slow down his breathing as Noct instructed him until he finally got to a point where it had slowed considerably and was almost back to a semi-normal rhythm.

“As moved as I am by this touching moment, do you mind if we start to wrap this up? I’d rather not waste the rest of my day dealing with this utter nonsense. Stand aside, I’ll collect my property and be on my way.” The brunette prince interrupted, the impatience in his voice obvious to anyone that could hear him.

Noctis merely turned his head, not even bothering to turn his entire body to face Eldrith directly. “Why don’t you just fuck off? The only way you’re going to get to Prompto is if you go through me, and the only way that you are going to get through me, is by stepping over my cold, dead corpse.”

Eldrith fumed at the Lucian prince’s snarky proclamation, “Shall I take that as an invitation?” He hissed as he quickly started to close the space between them, Noctis’s back completely open and vulnerable.

Eldrith had gotten only about a foot or two closer to Noctis when he suddenly found his way blocked by the much larger and older Lucian man, who had thus far during the confrontation had been completely still and silent.

“Out of my way, Lucian.” Eldrith growled, the tip of Cor’s long, thin katana mere inches from his exposed throat. “You dare protect that… that _thing??_ It is the rightful property of the Niflheim empire! Property that your oh so righteous prince stole from me, so I demand that you step aside!”

“I have no connection with this young man, that is true.” Cor stated bluntly, completely undeterred by the other prince’s threats. “However,” he continued, “I have pledged my life and loyalty to that of the Lucian royal family and I cannot permit you to do any harm to His Highness. I will protect the prince no matter the circumstances, even at the cost of my own life.” Cor finished, as if daring Eldrith to take even a single step closer to the prince whom he was now completely and effectively shielding with his own body, his sword ready to strike at a moment’s notice.

Noctis was vaguely aware of the conversation that was going on behind his turned back, but honestly, he didn’t pay it much mind. He knew if Cor couldn’t be trusted to watch his back, then no-one would be able to. Noctis was far too concerned with trying to reassure Prompto, to listen to any of the bullshit that was coming out of Eldrith’s mouth.

“Don’t worry, Prom. I swear, I’m going to figure out a way to get _both of us_ out of this.” Noctis declared completely unperturbed by the scene playing out behind him.  “I promised you I wasn’t going to let those Niff bastards touch you ever again and I meant it. I would sooner die than let you be dragged into that hell again.” Prompto only wished that he could be as hopeful as Noct was.

“Just trust me, okay?” Noctis added as he placed his hands reassuringly on the blonde’s shoulders. Still unable to find his voice quite yet, Prompto simply nodded slowly, trying desperately to keep focusing on Noct and not the people behind him.

“Okay,” Noctis took a deep breath. “All this arguing is getting us nowhere, I’m going to end this once and for all.” The prince looked down at the still rather awkward position that Prompto had assumed after he had been initially released by Cor, which was mostly due to the fact that he couldn’t stand because of his injured ankle. “But I can’t imagine that that position is all that comfortable with that injured ankle of yours, no matter how quickly we wrap this up, am I right?”

Without even really giving the blonde any significant time to answer, Noct swiftly placed his hands under the blonde’s armpits and helped to lift Prompto from the floor and help him arrange himself into a much less awkward, and yet still slightly slumped sitting position on the bed behind him. The blonde managed to mutter a barely audible ‘thank you’ as Noct turned around once again to face their uninvited guests. Still very anxious about how exactly things were about to unfold, Prompto clenched the material of Noct’s t-shirt in his still trembling fists and prayed to whichever astral might listen, that things would work out as amicably as the raven-haired prince seemed to think they would.

“Now where were we?” Noctis loudly interjected, not knowing or caring if he had interrupted any conversation that may have been going on prior to that moment. “Oh right, you were about to get the fuck out of my room.” The prince finished as he leaned out slightly from behind Cor so that he could stare Eldrith directly in the face, while making sure that his body was still effectively shielding Prompto from Eldrith’s gaze.

 “Not until I get what I came here for. Just step aside and hand it over, and you’ll never have to see me again.” Eldrith sneered right back, completely unfazed by Noctis’s comments.

 _Eldrith is dead set on leaving here with Prompto… but I refuse to believe that that is the only way this will end…_ Noctis thought frustratingly to himself. The furious Niflheim prince was proving to be just as stubborn as he was, and if things kept on like this, the two sides would be hopelessly deadlocked. _I have to do something to break this stalemate in our favor… but what?? I could easily take out Eldrith and those MTs again and probably even Verstael if I do it quickly, but I’m sure Cor would have my head for being so hot-headed and that still wouldn’t fix things in the long run… Eldrith would just come back stronger and with more MTs to retrieve Prompto the next time._

“Cor…” Noctis whispered as quietly as he could, so that hopefully no-one else would hear him. “I know that you still don’t trust Prompto… but you trust me, don’t you? Please… y-you can’t just let them take Prompto away…” Noct couldn’t help his voice from shaking as he quietly pleaded his case. If he didn’t get Cor on his side for this, he knew he would never be able to keep his promise to Prompto.

“They will _torture and kill_ him in the most brutal and painful ways possible if they manage to get their hands on him. You can’t possibly be okay with that can you...?!?” The desperation in Noctis’s voice was so thick it was practically tangible. Cor didn’t reply, but Noctis knew he had to have heard him and could only hope that the Marshal could put aside his mistrust of Prompto for the moment and figure out a way to get out of this damned confrontation without having to resort to giving the blonde up.  

“I’m tired of waiting…! If you refuse to give up what’s mine, then I will just have to take it back by force…!” Eldrith demanded, any semblance of patience he might have held onto before, now long gone.

Cor took a steadying breath before he did something that honestly surprised and scared Noctis. He lowered his sword and placed it back within its sheath. Raising his hands into what almost looked like he was surrendering, the veteran Lucian warrior calmly started speaking,

“All right. I’ll step aside and you can take the young man back into your custody-”

“Cor, no…! You can’t-” Noctis started frantically protesting as the blonde behind him let out a sudden cry as though he had been physically struck.

“However…” Cor continued without so much as a wave or nod in acknowledgement of the two now very frantic young men behind him. “It was your claim when you burst into the meeting hall with myself, His Majesty, Regis Lucis Caelum, as well your own father, Emperor Iedolas Aldercapt, that this young man you are so desperate to reclaim posed a very real danger to the prince and would kill him without hesitation had I not intervened, was it not?”

Eldrith hesitated for a moment before uttering a sharp, “Yes.”

Noctis had absolutely no idea what Cor was talking about, but he hadn’t given up Prompto quite yet, so the only thing he could do right now was to wait and see where Cor was going with this. It was obvious, or at least Noctis thought it was, that Cor had abandoned the idea of Prompto wanting to kill him after he had explained their situation, so what in the world was he trying to do? 

_~~~** A Short Time Earlier**~~~_

_Regis, Cor and Iedolas had been in the midst of a very tenuous discussion about anticipated updates in regards to the terms of their peace agreement. Perhaps it was due to the quickly deteriorating relations between the two nations, but it seemed as though every suggestion and subsequent discussion was quickly thrown out by the opposing party, and at this point Regis just couldn’t see being able to appease Aldercapt without sacrificing significant losses to Niflheim on behalf of Lucis. The Emperor was adamant, and yet Regis had no intention on simply laying down like a dog before him. He would be surprised if they there was anything that the two of them would be able to agree upon at this point._

_As the discussions wore on, their conferencing was suddenly halted as the large hall doors behind them suddenly opened forcefully, disrupting any discussion from continuing._

_“WHERE IS HE?” The intruder yelled furiously, “WHERE IS THAT DAMNED LUCIAN BRAT? I’M GOING TO KILL HIM!”_

_“Eldrith?! What is the meaning of this!?” Emperor Aldercapt demanded. “How dare you interrupt the proceedings with our guests while brandishing such words!”_

_Regis and Cor had yet to move or react, startled by the sudden proclamation, but not as foolish to react hastily without further information._

_“Explain yourself or be gone from my sight immediately.” Iedolas commanded as Eldrith continued to approach the large table where all constituents of the discussion had gathered._

_“That… that so-called prince of yours….!” Eldrith hissed as he nodded towards the two Lucians sitting across from where the Emperor was seated. “He attacked me! Then the bastard had the gall to run off with something of mine that absolutely cannot be replaced!”_

_Cor and Regis had absolutely no idea what the young Niflheim prince could possibly be talking about. As far as they both knew, Noctis had been shut up in his room since they had arrived the day before trying to sleep off some sort of bug that he thought he was catching. Even if that wasn’t the case, Noctis was very well aware of how he was expected to behave while being a guest of Niflheim… especially during such uneasy and unsure times. Sure, sometimes the young prince could be brash and impulsive; but he would never jeopardize relations with Niflheim by doing something as petty and reckless as stealing anything from Eldrith of all people, and using physical force to do so._

_While Cor and Regis silently exchanged glances as they attempted to silently assess exactly what situation could have led to this moment, a sharp flash of uneasiness, almost panic even, flashed ever so quickly over the Emperor’s face._

_It was now the Emperor and Eldrith that seemed to be having a tense, silent dialogue. Judging by the look on both of their faces, this couldn’t possibly be something as simple as Noctis quickly pickpocketing one of Eldrith’s weapons, armor or some slight scuffle between the two._

_It was in that moment that Iedolas’s entire disposition changed. No longer was he visibly angry and confused as to why Eldrith had suddenly burst into the room, but nervous and almost… anxious…?_

_“What of the status of your… possession? Has it been reclaimed?” The emperor inquired, trying keep his voice as steady as possible. It was obvious that he was trying to contain himself while in front of the Lucian king and his guard._

_“Not yet…” Eldrith gritted though his teeth. “I just now managed to get free from the …obstacles he left me before he ran off like a dog with its tail between his legs-”_

_“Then I would get to it.” Iedolas interjected quickly. “Before it becomes a bigger issue than you can handle.”_

_“Now, wait just a moment.” Regis cut in, now choosing to join the obviously veiled conversation. “I believe that if you intend to involve my son further, you would find it beneficial to clarify what exactly has happened before you start throwing careless and unfounded accusations. I will not stand for anyone, even the Prince of Niflheim to demean the Lucis Caelum name. I have heard or seen no evidence that my son is responsible for any of the actions that you have claimed.”_

_“I think a simple explanation would suffice to getting us on the right road to straightening this whole situation out, wouldn’t you say, Your Highness?” Cor added, as an impatient frown settled on Eldrith’s face._

_The issue for Eldrith wasn’t finding some sort of evidence to prove the Lucian brat’s fault, that would be easy with all the eye witness accounts of those that had been in the room when Noctis had attacked them. The problem was how to explain precisely why Noctis had attacked him. To do so, Eldrith would have to reveal the existence of a certain Niflheim prisoner; and absolutely no-one outside of an exclusive circle of people working directly under his father were even aware of his existence. In the end, that was certainly not a secret that he was about to share with anyone, let alone the King and his close advisor of another Nation._

_It was then that a most delicious idea dawned on the Niflheim prince… one that would not only serve to take care of the problem of getting back what was stolen from him as well as getting revenge on that ridiculous, goody-two-shoes Lucian Prince._

_It was clear that King Regis and the other man, Cor, did not know anything about their ‘special’ prisoner… damned Lucian must have stayed true to his word and not told them a single thing about him after all these years. It was that fact alone that would make it easy for him to manipulate this situation in a way that benefitted him. The whole thing seemed so perfect, he couldn’t possibly pass up an opportunity like this._

_Both Regis and Cor were still waiting expectantly for Eldrith’s explanation, and boy would they ever get an explanation._

_“Oh yes of course. I certainly wouldn’t want there to be any misunderstandings about what happened between us…” Eldrith began as the words started to roll smoothly off his deceitful tongue. Iedolas raised his eyebrows, not breaking eye contact with his son, making it clear that the prince was to proceed delicately and deliberately._

_“It has become very clear in recent years that the Magitek Troopers that Niflheim is known for producing are quite easily overwhelmed when fighting against opponents that possess significant intelligence and cunning. In order to overcome this unfortunate weakness, I have been working with some of my father’s best researchers to try and produce a weapon that can be used to overcome even the most brilliant enemy tacticians.” Eldrith revealed as Regis and Cor exchanged unnoticed looks of clear concern, things were not heading in a very reassuring direction. “Last night I was working in one of our workshops; we had just put the finishing touches on our most recent masterpiece, and then Prince Noctis…” the Niflheim prince continued putting particular disgusted emphasis when he mentioned the other prince’s name, “He rushed in, attacked me and my men and ran off with the experimental subject. I have no idea how he found us or got in, but before I knew it, it was the next morning and I was waking up on the floor of the workshop and the experimental Magitek Trooper was missing.”_

_“What possible reason would my son have to steal an experimental Magitek Trooper…?” Regis inquired harshly._

_“I should probably also mention that in order to increase the effectiveness of this new generation of Magitek Trooper, we designed the unit to take on the guise of a regular human soldier…” Eldrith smirked as he noticed the shocked and astounded looks on the Lucians’ faces at this particular revelation. “In fact, the Trooper was manufactured with the specific purpose to be essentially indistinguishable from other humans, and the only reliable way to tell them apart is by finding the barcode imprinted on the Trooper’s outer right wrist during the very initial stages of construction. That being said, it’s not hard to believe that his highness, Prince Noctis mistook the Trooper for a hapless human and flashed in, causing all that chaos in an attempt to ‘save’ the thing.” Eldrith didn’t even try to hide the twisted smile that quickly crawled across his face. “Too bad for him, the moment that the Magitek Trooper becomes operational, it will completely annihilate anything or anyone in its path, including a certain unsuspecting Lucian prince...”_

_“What are the chances that that thing of yours will actually become operational??” Cor demanded._

_“Oh, I’d say it could become operational at any moment. We had just finished programming it and had already started an initial check and boot-up of the Trooper’s control system moments before the Prince’s untimely arrival.” Eldrith had to hold back the laughter that was attempting to escape his lips._

_A flash of horror flashed between the two Lucian dignitaries. There was absolutely no time to waste._

_“Cor…” Regis barely needed to say anything as the other man had already risen from his seat._

_“At once, Your Majesty.” Cor bowed deeply before his king and without another word departed as quickly as his legs would carry him, hoping and praying that he would be able to make it to the young prince’s side before it was too late._

~~~**Present time**~~~

“I’m not sure about here in Niflheim,” Cor stated quite plainly, “But in Lucis, we take attempted murder very seriously; especially when it involves a member of our royal family.”

“Attempted murder??” Eldrith laughed, amused but curious in which direction the other man was leading. “You’re kidding me, right…?”

“I think that after having had a chance to investigate the boy, it’s obvious that he is not quite what you claimed he was. You did reveal certain truths, but also sewed in your own lies and deceit to fit your situation. You introduced him as nothing more than a machine that mimics human tendencies and emotions, but that’s not quite right is it?” Cor continued as the amused looked quickly melted off of the Niflheim Prince’s features. “This boy behind me is nothing short of a tried and true human, and as such is subjected to the laws of this world. That being said, I do not intend to allow the Crown Prince’s would-be murderer to escape due judgement and he will face said punishment… back in Lucis.”

“He’s already a prisoner of Niflheim!” Eldrith shouted. “You have no business taking our prisoners as your own! Just look at your precious Prince behind you… he is completely unscathed and thus your claim is completely unfounded as there is no proof that any crime was actually perpetrated!” Anger was quickly overtaking the prince’s previous jovial mood as realization began to dawn on him.

Cor was simply unaffected by the Niflheim Prince’s outburst. Noctis only hoped that he knew what Cor was trying to do. With a slight cough to clear his throat Cor calmly replied, “You are right. You have all the authority to refuse the young man’s extradition-”

“I refuse…!” Eldrith instantaneously interjected, not even allowing the Marshal to finish.

“Nevertheless…” Cor continued once again as he ignored the Prince’s outburst, brushing it to the side as though it had never happened. “If you truly wish to block the young man’s extradition back to Lucis, I will warn you that after doing so, you might find the citizens of Niflheim will not be quite as… clueless on certain matters as they have been the past ten odd years. Your inner circle has worked tirelessly to keep the existence of this young man out of the view of the public eye, I would imagine it would be quite disastrous if your secret were to accidentally get out…”

“Is that a threat…??” Eldrith spat as he glared daggers at the older man standing before him.

“It is true that we have had the tendency to be quite secretive about certain affairs that concern the empire, but they have been out of a matter of convenience more so than out of genuine necessity…” Verstael Besithia, who had also been completely silent throughout the entire confrontation, now quickly stepped in as he joined in on the discussion, pushing in front of a fuming Eldrith to come face to face with Cor.

The Marshal could practically feel the waves of anger and hatred rolling off the raven-haired prince behind him. However, as long as Noctis did not act on those feelings he shouldn’t have to worry about negotiations completely breaking down. He had honestly not expected things to go smoothly and would have been astounded had the Niffs given up on the boy so quickly, so it was only natural that there would be a constant back and forth. He had made a threat, so of course the older and much wiser man than their Prince would likely call him on it.

“Are you saying that you wouldn’t care if every single person in your entire vast empire knew that you had been keeping an innocent _Niflheim citizen_ prisoner for over ten years for absolutely no reason? I find that hard to believe given the circumstances.” He asked, raising his left eyebrow slightly in question.

“I’m saying that what we do, we do for the good of the Empire and even if the throngs of citizens that make up our great nation were to learn of these things, their only choice would be to embrace what makes our Empire strong… or else face the retribution of their own actions.” The man confidently declared, “It is true that you cannot have a kingdom without its citizens, but in the grand scheme of things, they are merely a means to an end. Pawns that are meant to be directed and ruled… the people of which you speak to would be meaningless in the face of our fearsome Magitek Infantry.”

“Are you seriously saying that you would massacre your own people to keep them subjugated and obedient??” Cor inquired, his calm mask dropping for the first time in genuine shock wondering how things in Niflheim had become so twisted… Niflheim had always been ostracized by the other countries in Eos for their harsh views, but this was beyond even what Cor had ever been expecting.

“I would do what I must to protect what is important. Regardless of anything else, the Empire _must_ endure at all costs!” The man proclaimed once more and there was no question of whether or not he truly believed what he was saying.

“I believe you aren’t giving the citizens of Niflheim quite the credit they deserve.” Cor replied after taking a moment to gather himself before the true monster that stood before him. “No matter the derelict living conditions or the oppression that may rear its ugly head, the one thing I know for fact is that anything is possible when people band together and fight for a common goal. You may think that your citizens pose you no threat, and you may be right… but there is also a definite truth that strength lies in numbers, and in that respect your citizens have the potential to become more powerful than you could ever imagine.” Cor had no idea if his argument would mean anything to the man before him, but he wasn’t just speaking nonsense… he had experienced what the masses could accomplish when they rose up and decided to fight for something they believed in first hand, and that was definitely not something to be ignored.

The older man simply let out a deep throaty laugh at Cor’s comments, dismissing them as mere distraction. “Hah! With the security and regulations we have in place, the Emperor’s palace may as well be indestructible. There would be no way for even swarms of angry citizens to gain access to the palace, even in the worst conditions.”

Okay… so, obviously Cor wasn’t making any progress using that particular tactic. Although, the Marshal had his doubts that the man was as unconcerned about the issue at hand as he was claiming; and with that being said he wouldn’t be able to accomplish anything if he stopped now. There had to be something that would be able to catch the man off guard and force him to reveal his true colors… but what?

Cor paused, carefully going over all the details, large and small that Noctis had revealed to him mere moments before they had been interrupted. A brief comment that Noctis had made when he had been first discussing how he had originally met the blonde boy stuck into his mind and suddenly he had one more idea that might be crazy, but he was out of ideas otherwise.

“It’s not the citizens that you are afraid of though, is it…?”

“And what exactly do you mean by that?” The Niflheim elder answered impartially, but Cor could still detect the ever so slight hint of hesitation.

“I think you know very well what I mean.” Cor replied seriously. “It is the thing that you and your council have been trying desperately to hide for the past ten odd years and will do just about anything to prevent coming to light even now and into the future.”

“…”

“If you truly had no fear of people learning what was happening in within these walls, why all the overwhelming secrecy with the boy that you are so desperate at this moment to reclaim…? I don’t believe for a moment that you simply want him because of the fact that he is but a mere prisoner of Niflheim…”

Cor could see that he had finally struck a nerve as he watched the Niflheim elder’s fake mask instantly shatter, his sudden anxious expression clear for all to see.

“This boy you have tried so desperately to hide away from the world will either make or break the future of Niflheim; I know that and you know that.”

“You know nothing of what you speak, Lucian.” Verstael hissed.

“That may be so, but neither do you.” Cor replied quickly. “You have kept the boy at arm’s length his entire life and kept him just barely alive until you could figure out what to do with him once and for all. Although it seems the only concrete plan that you have been able to come up with to deal with the situation has been to hide him as far away from anything or anyone for the rest of his life. If he never does anything but sit in a cell for the rest of his life, how could he possibly be a threat to the empire…? Am I getting a little warmer?” Cor mused, his eyes locking with those of Verstael’s.

“…”

The silence was confirmation enough for Cor that he had to be on the right path.

“Your entire empire is terrified by this young man and what he represents.” Cor continued, “By taking this boy back to Lucis as a prisoner and attempted murderer of the Lucian prince, I am giving you what you want. His existence will not change, as he will be confined in one of our most secured and guarded Lucian prisons for only the most heinous traitors to the crown for the rest of his days. Your Empire can breathe freely and you… well, you will be honored as the savior of Niflheim. Your Empire to which you are so devoted will continue to thrive for many years without constant fear of what one single child would be able to do.”

For the first time, Verstael was not completely confident on how to proceed. He knew he could never let that thing escape with the Lucians, but it would be not easy task for him to reclaim him from them. Overpowering the prince couldn’t be too hard, but he knew of the legends that surrounded the older man who was now blocking his path to his prey.

‘Cor the Immortal’ they called him, not just known within his own kingdom of Lucis, but known by people all over Eos. If he had the entire might of his Magitek Infantry behind him, he knew he could probably find a way to take care of him… however right now, the handful of Troopers he had at his disposal at the moment wouldn’t stand a chance and would most likely be defeated in mere seconds.

If Verstael had thought for even a moment that Cor would follow through on his claims to throw that pathetic excuse for a son into their deepest, darkest jail, he thought that he might have actually considered it. He knew better though… he knew that they were all lies. There would be no way that the prince who had so fiercely protected the boy thus far would allow such a thing, especially within his own kingdom.

Which led him back to the original problem. As much as he hated to admit it, if Cor refused to back down and listen to reason, would he be able to force him to turn the boy over?

“I think that you know as well as I that that will not happen.” Verstael stated plainly. “I grow tired of this pointless back and forth, so I will make myself very clear,” The older Niff took a breath before continuing, “You can hand it over now and I will try to persuade the Emperor to overlook this traitorous transgression and there might still be a chance for Niflheim and Lucis to be able to maintain the peace that we have enjoyed in the past.” Verstael paused yet again before finishing, “However… if you refuse, I will personally go to the Emperor and tear the Niflheim and Lucian treaty to a thousand little shreds myself and you will see what it means to be at the mercy of our fearsome Magitek Troopers.”

“You would wage war on all of Lucis and throw away everything we have accomplished over these long years, all to reclaim one boy?” Cor asked incredulously.

“I will do what I must to keep our great Empire strong!” Verstael proclaimed. “I will not ask again…! You are to hand over the prisoner immediately or else risk all-out war with all of Niflheim!” The older Niff yelled as he started to raise his hand to signal the Magitek Troopers behind him to unleash all their terrifying might onto the two figures that stood between him and his prey.

Cor visibly tensed at this development and cautiously placed his hand on his katana’s sheath, ready to pull it forth, should the MTs in front of him begin to advance. He had hoped to settle things diplomatically and avoid any confrontation that could escalate into something larger. The peace between the two nations was very much hanging on by a thread and the slightest little jump or bump between the two could be the catalyst for an all-out war between them, that was very much clear. It was also very clear to Cor that this man before him, Verstael Besithia, could and would not be reasoned with. If things escalated any further, Cor would have no choice but to extract Noctis from the situation before he had a chance to get caught up in any sort of crossfire.

Although, things were not quite as simple as that anymore… not with the appearance of the mysterious blonde boy that Noctis seemed so dead set on protecting. He knew that the prince would absolutely refuse to move if it meant leaving the Niff boy... but how could he possibly justify risking Noctis’s safety for the sake of some unknown Niflheim prisoner? Although, if what Noctis had told him was true… that this boy could potentially play a pivotal role in taking down the frighteningly powerful Niflheim empire… could he pass up a chance to gain a crucial advantage in the seemingly inevitable war to come?

“Your highness,” Cor whispered quietly but quickly, knowing that they didn’t have any time to waste before he would be forced to make a decision. “Is it true? What you said about that boy being fated to bring an end to the Niflheim empire once and for all?”

The sudden request from the Marshal caught the young prince off guard, shocked as he had been busy keeping his entire focus on the immediately impending threat of the oncoming Magitek Troopers. However, once Noctis managed to shake himself out of his stupor he quickly nodded with a quick and confident,

“Yes, it is. I swear it is.”

That was all that Cor needed to hear to make up his mind. “Okay, then. I’m holding you to that then.”

By this point, the Magitek troopers had already started to advance on the three and Cor knew that there was no more time to weigh his decision. The Marshal practically leapt from where he had been standing to meet the oncoming MTs head on and unsurprisingly, it was mere moments before Cor was able to reduce the charging MT squad into piles of scrap metal. His sword swings were lightning fast and placed strategically for maximum impact, such enemies were simply no match for the seasoned Lucian warrior.

At the sudden and unexpected development, Eldrith and Verstael simply froze where they stood, unable to comprehend how useless their fearsome Magitek Troopers had been when confronted with the older man from Lucis. They knew that this man was strong… but the power that radiated from the swordsman was on a completely different level than anything either of them had expected.

As the shock started wearing off their face, Cor knew that things would get out of hand VERY quickly if he didn’t do something and without so much as a warning, Cor charged forward once again as he rushed towards both the Prince and Verstael.

The old researcher was practically defenseless, which made knocking him unconscious with the blunt end of his katana’s guard child’s play. Eldrith attempted to raise his weapon in an attempt to block his attacker, but he was simply too slow and with another quick and clean hit to the back of his head, Eldrith’s body crashed to the ground with a loud thudding noise before staying completely still.

Cor let out a tired and yet clearly annoyed groan as he placed his long sword back inside it’s sheath. He really had hoped that things could have been settled without having to resort to using force… but judging by what he had seen while he had accompanied the King to meetings with the Niflheim Emperor recently, it had seemed that Niflheim had had just about enough of making compromises with Lucis.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments are always appreciated. :)
> 
> Free to check out my blog on tumblr! [ever-at-your-side-15](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/ever-at-your-side-15)


	7. Fight or Flight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for all the continued support of this fic! It really does mean a lot to me that people are continuing to enjoy reading it!
> 
> Enjoy!

“You have five minutes to gather your belongings and not a second longer. I can’t imagine that the Emperor will take too kindly to yet another Lucian raising his weapon at one of his constituents, let alone his own son and head researcher.” Cor ordered quickly.

He had done what had been necessary to protect the prince, and would certainly never regret his decision. However, the deed was done and there was no going back now. If Cor wanted to continue to keep the Lucian royal family safe, then the best thing for them would be to leave Niflheim immediately and come up with a plan to deal with Niflheim once they were back in the safety of the Crown City.

Noctis quickly nodded, turning to place a reassuring hand on Prompto’s shoulder, the blonde had barely moved since Noct had helped him up onto the large bed a short while earlier.

“Gimme two seconds to get all my stuff together and then we’re going to get out of here, okay?” Prompto nodded mutely as he looked consumed in thought. Noctis assumed that he must be trying to process everything that had just happened and Noctis honestly wished that he could just sit with the blonde and help him make sense of it all, but Cor wasn’t kidding when he had told him to gather all his stuff in five minutes. Once those five minutes were up, Cor would force him out of the room even if it meant dragging Noctis out with nothing but the shirt on his back.

The raven-haired prince quickly started running back and forth from once side of the room to another gathering anything of his that wasn’t already packed away. It was pretty lucky that Noctis had only just arrived yesterday morning, because that meant that the prince really hadn’t had much of an opportunity to spread out all his stuff around the room.

While Noctis was making sure that he had packed away everything of his, Cor decided to do some cleaning of his own. The Marshal started to gather the remnants of the dismantled MTs and shoved them into the large walk in closet, where they would be much less noticeable for anyone who decided to walk into the room after they had left.

Cor needed not only to safely extract the prince of Lucis, but the King as well; and that wasn’t even counting the mysterious young blonde who was still currently sitting a slumped position on the bed looking as though he was about to pass out; or even the small group of Crownsguard that had accompanied the Lucian royal family to Gralea.

That would be quite the tall order, even for someone as seasoned as Cor. He would need every single second he could get, if he wanted a chance to actually ensure everyone got out of Gralea safely. Even if it was only a few minutes, the longer the Niffs remained oblivious to their true intentions, the better their chances would be.

After Cor had deposited the remains of the MTs in the closet, he did the same with both Eldrith and Verstael and then closed the door. It would probably be best if they couldn’t get out right when they regained consciousness, seeing as Cor had absolutely no idea how long they would be out for. He obviously hadn’t been going for the kill, and tried to hit them with just enough force to knock them out without causing too much other damage, but how quickly they would recover was completely up to them; it could be five minutes, or it could be five hours… there was just no way to tell.

As an added bit of security that would hopefully slow the two Niffs down for a few moments, Cor found one of the larger bookcases that had been situated near the closet and carefully moved it so that it was jammed up against the door effectively blocking it from being opened unless the bookcase itself was either moved out of the way or there was enough force from the door to force the bookcase to become dislodged.

In the meanwhile, while Noct and Cor were off doing their own things, Prompto was still sitting silently on the bed in the same position he had been since their encounter with the other Niffs mere moments before. His brain was currently trying to process the enormity of everything he had just witnessed… he remembered seeing the MTs begin to advance, and was sure that had been it… it would only be a matter of time before he would be returned to his cell, or to… to that other place; the place he couldn’t even think about without a sharp chill running down his spine.

However, right as the MTs had started to charge, Prompto could have sworn there had been a brief exchange between the older man and Noct, of which Prompto hadn’t been able to make out; and that was when everything changed. Suddenly, the Lucian that still made him feel very uncomfortable, charged towards the oncoming MTs and the _entire squadron_ was dispatched within mere seconds. Prompto didn’t even know that such power and strength was even possible… he had never witnessed anyone strong enough to match the strength of one of the elite MT units, let alone scrap multiple units with such ease… were all the other Lucian soldiers this powerful? If that was really the case though… why had the Lucians gone to such lengths to appease Niflheim as though Niflheim was the larger threat…?

“That’s five minutes, kid.” Cor’s loud, impatient and insistent voice, shocking Prompto back to his senses. “Grab whatever you have and get over here, we can’t afford to waste even another second if we want to have a chance to get out of here.”

“I know, Cor. I know the stakes we’re dealing with.” Noct replied, annoyance clear in his voice.

“Uh- Prompto was it…? If you don’t want to be left behind you better get your ass over here too. I’m not going to risk the safety of the Lucian Royal Family because some Niff kid I know nothing about is lagging behind.” Cor said sharply, his attention now fully focused on the blonde, which caused Prompto to shrink back, still very much shaken from their first encounter when the man had woken him harshly from his sleep by threatening to kill him for simply being in Noct’s room.

“I… um- uh… I c-can’t-” Prompto squeaked as he shrunk away from the man’s angry glare. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to comply… he just couldn’t. He needed to tell the man that his ankle was still fucked up and the moment he put any kind of weight onto it, his leg would completely buckle. The problem however, was that he was still so intimidated by the stoic Lucian that his brain didn’t seem to want to let him actually communicate that in a way that the man would be able to understand. The man was obviously not in a patient mood and Prompto had a feeling that once he hit his breaking point, all bets were off.

_What if he gets fed up with waiting and just takes Noct with him…_ Prompto thought fervently to himself. _Noct did promise he wouldn’t abandon me, but this man was very strong and it probably wouldn’t take much to force Noct to leave… and what would happen then? Eventually the Niffs are going to figure out what happened and once they find all of the MTs and everyone else, there was just no telling what kind of horrible and unthinkable things that the Niffs would do in retaliation._

“Cor, give him a break, okay?” Noct’s annoyed voice cut through the silence, once again completely cutting off the blonde’s train of thought.

“Sorry about Cor, Prom…” Noct apologized as he placed a comforting hand on the blonde’s shoulder. “I swear, he’s a good guy and means well… he just uh, get very touchy when things involve the safety of the royal family.”

“Y-yeah… I guess I can’t b-blame him for n-not trusting me. I am just a Niff after all...” Prompto whispered back.

“Don’t worry, he’ll come around. He just needs time to get to know you like I have.” Noct grinned, though Prompto found it hard to believe that he would be able smooth things over with the man quite as easily as the raven-haired boy claimed.

“Cor, you remember how I told you that those damned scientists had been doing all sorts of experiments on Prompto?” The prince now moved his focus from the nervous blonde, back to the man who now seemed as though he was about to burst an artery due to the sheer fact that Noctis had yet to walk over towards the door with his things so that they could leave.

“You can explain it to me once we are safely out of Gralea. We don’t have time to waste on your stories right now.” Cor demanded as he now decided to walk over towards where the prince was still standing, placing a strong hand on his shoulder, ready to forcefully guide his uncooperative charge out of the room if necessary. “But we do need to get-”

“Yeah, well we can’t just waltz out of here, because those bastards busted Prompto’s ankle; which means he _can’t_ just walk out of here by himself.” Noct cut in and continued before Cor had a chance to even reply, quickly turning his attention back to Prompto. “Comon Prom, get on my back, I’ll carry you.” Noct finished as he situated himself, squatting down in front of the blonde so that Prompto could easily climb onto the raven-haired prince’s back without much trouble. Prompto had been about to do just that, before Cor let out a clearly frustrated groan, walking over to towards where the two boys were gathered.

“Don’t be ridiculous…”

The blonde froze and a sharp feeling of dread constricted his chest as he feared Cor was about to urge Noct to leave him behind.

“There’s no way we’re going to get out of here if you try and carry him.” The Marshal stated quite simply.

“Well we have to do something-” Noctis started before being cut off.

“And we will.” Cor replied. “I know you want to help him, but if _you_ try to carry him we won’t get anywhere fast.” Cor could see that the prince was ready to start arguing, but simply raised his hand and continued. “Let’s face it, we need to get out of here as quickly as possible and if you want me to get everyone out of here, including Prompto, the only way that is going to happen is if I carry him.”

Judging by the way Noctis’s face scrunched up in frustration, it was clear that he wasn’t all that thrilled with Cor’s suggestion, but at the same time what Marshal had said _did_ make an unfortunate amount of sense. Noctis had made a promise to protect Prompto, no matter what, and that meant he would need to do whatever it took to tip the odds in their favor.

“This damned kid better be the next coming of Eos if I’m going through this much trouble to get his ass out of here.” Cor muttered as he walked over towards where Noctis was still standing next to the blonde.

Before Prompto had a chance to protest, Cor had already pushed Noct to the side, while demanding he get all his stuff together so that they could leave. Prompto’s heart flipped a couple times as his mind briefly flashed to both the man’s sudden attack earlier as well as the terrifying strength that he had used to dispatch the group of MT units that had accompanied Verstael and Eldrith. The blonde couldn’t help but direct a worried look in Noct’s direction, as if he were silently asking the prince whether or not he really needed to do this.

Seeing the blonde’s obvious discomfort, Noct did his best to send Prompto a comforting and reassuring smile as he picked up his hastily packed bags, “I know this isn’t all that ideal, but Cor is right, if we want to get you out of here, this is the best chance we are going to have.”

Prompto still found it hard to shake the hesitation growing within his gut, but nevertheless nodded and gingerly placed his hands around Cor’s neck, while still trying his best not to strangle and further annoy the man had decided to help him for whatever reason. The last thing that Prompto wanted to do was to piss Cor off again… he had had enough of that to last a lifetime.

After making sure that the blonde was secure, Cor quickly stood up, taking particular care to be sure he was not jarring the blonde’s injured ankle. After running through a mental checklist to make sure he hadn’t forgotten anything crucial, the Marshal quickly motioned for Noctis to follow him to the only exit to the spacious suite.

After waiting a few seconds to make sure the coast was clear, the two Lucians began to sprint and Prompto could only attempt to remain as still as possible, so as not to be a huge burden to the older Lucian.

“Okay, I’ve already contacted the rest of the Crownsguard. They are all ready to go and plan to meet up with us right outside the Palace, where the royal transport will be waiting.” Cor relayed, his attention fully directed towards Noctis as he placed his phone back into his inside jacket pocket. “According to their reports, Regis is still in the midst of negotiations with the Emperor.  This will certainly play in our favor since that can only mean that the Emperor is still unaware as to what just transpired back in your room.”

Noctis nodded as the two men continued raced down the hallway side by side. The large meeting hall where Cor had left Regis to sprint towards Noctis’s room not too long ago in his apparently misguided attempt to dispose the imminent threat that Eldrith had so adamantly warned them of was not terribly far away, so they if they kept up their current pace, they should be able to arrive fairly quickly.

“Okay, so… how exactly do you plan to get my dad out of there without raising the Emperor’s suspicions and immediately getting us all captured…?” Noctis asked as he and Cor turned a corner and continued to sprint down another hallway leading in the direction of the large meeting room Cor had spent the vast majority of his time in while he and Regis had been negotiating peace talks with Niflheim.

“My expectation is that there won’t be too much time for discussion or questions. I will simply inform His Majesty that a certain delicate situation has come up that is rather time-sensitive and needs his full attention. The Emperor has no reason to expect foul play as the story is completely true and valid.” Cor finished and Noctis couldn’t help but grin at the Marshal’s simple and yet clever plan.

“Valid in the sense that I am sure you will be unable to provide any actual specific details on the matter that might cause the Emperor the change his tune.” Noctis chuckled and Cor merely grunted in acknowledgment.

After a few more incredibly long and tense minutes which consisted of both Noctis and Cor practically sprinting through the palace, Cor suddenly slowed his pace as the three approached the large, ornate double doors that they had been looking for. The elder Lucian paused for a moment so that he could get a chance to catch his breath, before squatting down low to the ground and letting Prompto slide gingerly off his back so that he could lean against the nearby wall while Cor went to fetch the King. Noctis stood by, carefully guiding Prompto and helping him slide slowly and carefully off Cor’s back so that there was not any unnecessary jostling.

“I should only be a minute or two… keep watch and whatever happens, DO NOT make a scene.” Cor ordered, his face completely stoic and serious. “Do whatever you can to avoid conflict; if we want to have any chance at all of getting out of here alive, Iedolas cannot become involved.”

“Yeah, yeah… we got it.” Noctis whined as he quickly turned his head over towards Prompto for confirmation and the blonde slowly nodded in agreement. “Just go grab my dad and then we can get the hell out of here.”

“Be ready to head out the instant we get back.” Cor replied as he reached out to grasp the door’s large golden handle, completely ignoring the young prince’s moaning.

As Cor disappeared into the meeting room, the two boys were left alone in the silence that followed. Noctis was sure to keep his eyes and ears open, ready to jump into action at any given moment. He hoped that Cor would hurry up… the quicker that they got up and out of here, the better. Noctis knew that he wouldn’t be able to relax one bit until he, Prompto, and everyone else were able to get away and out of this accursed capital.    

“How are you holding up, Prom?” Noct asked, hoping that the blonde wasn’t still in an overwhelming amount of pain considering he hadn’t really had much of a chance to recuperate at all, considering he had only been able to rescue the blonde just yesterday. Prompto had barely spoken a single word since Cor had abruptly ended things back in his guest suite; and it was almost like the blonde had gone into some sort of strange trance, only offering small nods and quick, but soft answers. Noct realized that Prompto was undoubtedly exhausted and maybe even a little in shock with everything that had unfolded within the past hour or so, but if he had to guess, there must be some other reason for Prompto’s behavior that he just couldn’t seem to pin down.

As expected, there was no response, so Noct decided to shift gears and try to change tactics.

“Are you excited to finally be able to leave Gralea after all these years? Now you’ll be able to see Insomnia with your own eyes and you won’t have to just try and imagine what it looks like from what you’ve seen in photographs.” Noctis attempted once more, remembering how many times Prompto’s eyes lit up whenever the two boys had started talking about Insomnia, or whenever Noctis had brought books that had been written or showed pictures of the Lucian capital.

At the mention of the famed, or to most Niffs, infamous Lucian capital, that usual sudden spark finally started to shine within the blonde’s previously dull and almost unseeing blue orbs for a moment, before he finally managed to open his mouth.

“In…som…nia…?” He breathed out slowly, as though he couldn’t possibly believe the sounds that were coming out. “Are you s-serious Noct…? You really think I’ll be able to see it with my own eyes??” The genuine excitement and yearning quickly building and all but erasing the shock and confusion from before.

“I don’t think it, I know it.” Noctis grinned as he gently ruffled Prompto’s messy blonde hair. “Cor wouldn’t have brought you this far if he didn’t intend to bring you all the way.”

“I can’t believe it…” Prompto muttered to himself. “I’m just trying to wrap my mind around the idea of it, but I really just… I just can’t believe it. Ever since the first day they threw me in my cell, I’ve spent countless hours just wishing and praying that they would give me the chance to go outside one last time for even the briefest of moments… but I never imagined that it would actually happen… and now that the possibility exists…? I…I just don’t know what to think.”

“Well I can’t say much for weather in Niflheim since in my experience it’s pretty cold and miserable all year round…” Noctis joked, “But just wait until you see Insomnia though… man, the weather around this time of year is just freakin perfect.”

Despite all the emotions that he was feeling, and everything that had happened, the mere idea of Prompto being able to actually walk through the streets of Insomnia with Noct and see everything that he had always dreamed about seeing in person with his own two eyes made him absolutely beam.

After witnessing the excited grin firmly strung across Prompto’s face, Noct quickly realized that this was something that he wished would never leave. Surely, with all the absolute shitty things that had happened to Prompto for what seemed like his entire life, he deserved this little bit of happiness didn’t he…? No matter what the two of them would face going forward, Noct was absolutely determined to do all he could to keep that infectious grin ever present.

Prompto looked as though he wanted to say something, but was interrupted when without notice, the door right next to the two boys flew open and two large figures rushed hastily out of the room. Cor at the lead, with Regis right on his heels.

“-Crownsguard are all ready to go, so once we arrive, we will depart at once.” Cor was finishing as the two older men exited the large room.

Regis nodded to confirm that he had understood before his eyes caught on Noctis who was still kneeling next to Prompto and quickly rushed over, pulling his son up and wrapping his arms around him before hugging him tightly.

“Thank the six, you’re okay…” Regis face instantly softening as he continued to embrace his son.

“I’m fine, dad.” Noctis replied, unable to do much more until his father decided to release him from his current death grip. “You worry too much… I can at least… you know, take care of myself.” He insisted with a smile as he did his best to return the gesture.

“Regis, I know you are relieved to see Noctis, but none of this will matter if we waste time and end up getting captured before we can get everyone including you _and_ your son out of Gralea safely.” Cor added, sympathizing with the king, but knowing that Regis would also never forgive him if Cor allowed Noctis’s safety to be jeopardized.

“Despite the fact that I may not know all the details about what is going on; I can assure you that I am well aware of the stakes. The last thing to my knowledge was that Noctis was in grave danger, so do forgive me if I want to take a moment to revel in my son’s well-being and safety.” Regis replied as he quickly squeezed the boy once more before finally releasing him.

While Regis had taken the few moments to reunite properly with Noctis, Cor walked back over towards where Prompto was still sitting, silently against the wall. It wasn’t but a moment after Noctis had been released from his father’s grasp, that the boy immediately joined him. Cor kneeled next to Prompto so that he could help the blonde get situated so that his torso was once again draped up against the older man’s back.

“And what do we have here? Surely we have enough time for one of you to fill me about our newcomer here…?” Regis asked as he watched in equal parts curiosity and confusion as Noctis and Cor worked to situate this strange blonde boy that Regis was definitely sure he had neither seen nor met, so that Cor had him securely on his back. The boy obviously wasn’t Lucian… as king, he had been adamant and meticulous and had taken great pride in handpicking each member of the Lucian convoy that would travel to and from Niflheim with the crown. Other than Cor and Noctis, the only other Lucians that had come to Niflheim were highly trained elite Crownsguard of which this boy was obviously not. “Cor? Noctis? What is the meaning of this? Who is this young man?”

Prompto quickly proceeded to become entranced with inspecting the floor, the moment that the Lucian King had started inquiring about him. He knew that the King was undoubtedly sizing him up, and more importantly, trying to decide what to do with him. He could feel the man’s eyes burning into him and the only thing he could think to do was to stare at the floor until the man’s questioning gaze left him.

“He-” Noctis suddenly spoke up, ready to explain everything to his father. However, before he could explain much of anything at all, the young prince was swiftly cut off by Cor.

“I apologize Your Majesty; I assure you, I will explain, but right now we don’t have the luxury of the time that would be necessary to do so. Just know that this young man may very likely play a pivotal role in our imminent fight against Niflheim and thus, we are bringing him back to Lucis with us.” Cor replied hastily as he made sure that Prompto was secure and ushered Regis and Noctis with a nod of his head.

It was clear to see that Regis was not all together thrilled with his old friend’s answer, but he still trusted the other man enough to use his own judgement. They would have plenty of time to discuss things on their long journey back to Insomnia.

The three, now four, figures continued to sprint down the large hallways and long corridors. Cor was absolutely astounded that they didn’t come up against further opposition from any of the Niflheim forces. Was their luck really that good or was there some other reason that was contributing to the delay in response from Niflheim? Regardless, that wasn’t something that Cor was going to question at the moment, but he still kept in the back of his mind that they could start coming after them at any moment; and without warning.

The Lucians kept running, and Noctis could hardly believe it when the made it to the large entryway which was the last thing standing between them and the Royal transport, and thus their escape from Gralea. The dark-haired youth couldn’t believe the luck that they had been graced with so far and he desperately wanted to believe that they might actually stand a chance to get out of the Emperor’s palace without any further intervention from the Niflheim forces. All they had to do was to get through the atrium and get outside and into the transport vehicle that was waiting and ready to take them away from Gralea... they just needed to close the last twenty feet…!

“Hey Prompto, we’re almost-” Noct started to say before he was cut off by another voice shouting loudly from somewhere behind the retreating figures of the Lucians and one added Niff.

“AND WHERE EXACTLY DO YOU THINK YOU COWARDS ARE RUNNING OFF TO?!?”

“Etro almighty…” Noct cursed under his breath as he instantly recognized that crass, and deranged voice anywhere. He had heard it enough times in the past twenty-four hours to last a lifetime.

At this point Cor, Regis and Noctis had all come to a stop and were now turned around, coming face to face with the ever-regaling sight of the royal pain in the ass himself, Eldrith Aldercapt. If there was anything to say about the Niflheim prince, no-one could argue that he wasn’t persistent.

“Finally managed to pick your sorry ass up off the ground and come for another ass-kicking?” Noctis called back, his irritation at the other prince rising rapidly. Despite everything though, Noctis had to admire the man’s determination to not give up; but the schtick of him bursting into a room just to get his ass handed to him was getting pretty old, pretty quickly.

“Don’t think for one second that just because you have caught me off guard that I will let you prance out of here like you haven’t committed high treason against my father!” Eldrith once again yelled, flanked by an even larger crowd of MTs than ever before. Although it had been child’s play for Cor to take out Eldrith and the small squadron before, it was clear that things would not be quite as easy this time.

“Why don’t you come and try to stop us?” Noctis shot back, “Since you’ve been so successful taking on any Lucians that you’ve gone up against…”

“Noctis!” Cor interjected from where he stood directly behind the defiant Lucian prince. “We don’t have time to waste playing into the irate prince’s plans; I know that you want justice for what happened to Prompto, but the longer he holds us here, the more time that gives Niflheim to rally their forces and the smaller our window of opportunity to escape becomes.”

“I know…” Noctis started, “But… they… they are… ugh-fine…” he groaned, knowing that Cor was right, but still desperately wanting the satisfaction of beating on Eldrith one more time before they departed.

“Not only do we not have the time to waste on this pointless conflict, but we don’t have the man power to take out all of the current threats lobbied against us. It is not going to be nearly as easy to catch the Niflheim forces off guard for a third time and you know that.” Cor continued.

“But before-” Noctis started before the Marshal quickly cut him off once more.

“Last time I wasn’t carrying a seriously injured young man on my back and not only do I have the Lucian prince to keep safe, but the King of Lucis to protect as well. I may have pulled off a lot of miraculous feats in my day, but this is not something that I would be able to guarantee. Charging in blindly will do nothing to help Prompto, yourself or your father.” The veteran Lucian finished.

Noctis reluctantly nodded and the two made to continue on their way with Regis, when Eldrith’s voice once again broke the silence.

“My father’s personal guard will be here any moment, so if you are truly so keen to avoid any further conflict, I suggest you relinquish that which you have so rudely stolen from us.” Eldrith demanded as he stared straight at the blonde currently clutching at Cor’s shirt, doing whatever he could manage to hide himself from the gaze of the Niflheim prince. The only thing that Prompto could think to do was to hold onto Cor with an iron grip and very carefully focus his attention on Noct, who gave him a silent nod, and placed a reassuring hand on his right shoulder, before turning to face Eldrith once again.

“No matter how many times you demand it, I won’t let you put a hand on Prompto ever again! I don’t care about whatever right you think you have to him, but we’ll never give him up!” Noctis insisted, his fists clenching and shaking in anger at just the thought of leaving Prompto to the mercy of Niflheim for even another second.

With this latest comment, Eldrith did something that Noctis hadn’t been expecting at all. He stood where he was and started… wait, was that laughter…?

“ _You_ may not want to give him up, but I wonder… do _you_ really have any say in the matter? By taking that thing back to Lucis with you, your traitorous actions are nothing short of a declaration of war with Niflheim… and with affairs that affect your entire country on such a scale…? I believe you are not the ultimate authority are you, Noctis Lucis Caelum?”

The dark-haired prince hesitated, not liking the direction this conversation was headed. If he had been able to spend even a few minutes… just a few _seconds_ to explain even the bare basics of what had happened with his father like he had with Cor… he wouldn’t be nearly as worried. Unfortunately, due to their rush to flee the Emperor’s palace, he hadn’t had that chance yet. His father knew next to nothing about anything that had to do with Prompto’s situation. The real scary part was that there was no telling what would happen if Eldrith confronted his father with specific details about the situation with Prompto, and Noctis could see the uneasiness and tension build within the blonde’s face as well.

Without even waiting for a response, Eldrith turned his attention towards the aforementioned King of Lucis. “As I’m sure you know, Your Majesty… the kingdoms of Niflheim and Lucis have flourished through a long and prosperous period of peace that has existed between our two nations over the past many years since the very first treaty between our nations was authored, and I would certainly hope that we could continue to embrace these times of bountiful peace. However, the traitorous actions that your son has committed surely threaten that carefully constructed peace. The only way that I could possibly see being able to salvage the relationship between our two nations and allow Lucis to atone for its sins against Niflheim would be to right the wrong that your precious prince has committed.” A malevolent glint sparked in Eldrith’s eye as he finished and waited for Regis’s reply, confident that if he left the Lucian king with no other alternative, then he would have no choice but to cave to his demands.

Regis remained surprisingly silent as he considered Eldrith’s words. Noctis was desperately hoping that his father’s silence didn’t mean that he was actually considering handing Prompto over… but there would be no way to tell until his father actually answered.

Eldrith seemed to be just as impatient to hear Regis’s reply as he quickly started talking once more, in a further attempt to goad the Lucian king into conceding.

“King Regis… you are known by many to have always done what is best for your people, are you not?” Eldrith inquired. “Going to war with Niflheim would undoubtedly mean the loss of countless innocent Lucian lives between those that would be forced to fight to protect your country as well as the citizens that could have the potential to get caught up in any possible conflict between Lucis and the Empire. Can you really throw away all those lives, all that you have gained and achieved these past long years because of one single life that not only is a complete stranger to you, but is in fact not even Lucian at all and Niflheim by birth?”

The silence between Eldrith’s comments and Regis’s reply felt as though it lasted an eternity to the anxiously awaiting Noctis. Just about one of the worst things was that his father’s face gave absolutely nothing away; he always had a flawless poke face, which Noctis assumed was a skill he had picked up and practiced regularly as king.

The sheer thought of giving up Prompto made Noctis absolutely sick to his stomach. But what if…? What if his father did order to give up Prompto…? Would he really be able to disobey his own father while they were in the midst of trying to escape Gralea? What chances would he have if he tried to escape with Prompto by himself? The answer to that last question was fairly simple... zero. There was just no way that he or Prompto would be able to escape Gralea alive without the help of his father, Cor and the rest of the Crownsguard.

After an excruciating, few moments of silence that continued to stretch on endlessly, it had seemed as though Regis had finally made his decision as he calmly regarded the irate Prince before him.

“I may not be as informed on this issue as I would prefer to be, but that does not mean that you can play me for a fool, young prince.” Regis replied in an even tone. “I assure you that I know very well what is at risk for my country at this moment, and I would also advise that a child, such as yourself, should not presume to know matters of which you are not involved.”

Eldrith’s face went rigid at the foreign king’s harsh remarks. This was definitely _not_ the direction that he had been expecting this conversation to go.

“I trust in those that I surround myself with and I would suggest that you do the same. It is true that Lucis and Niflheim have enjoyed a long period of peace, which has benefitted both our kingdoms greatly. However, recent events have opened my eyes to how drastically things have changed and I fail to see a way forward that would be mutually beneficial to each of our respective kingdoms. If you would excuse us, I believe our business here is finished… do be sure to send my regards to your father.”

Eldrith couldn’t believe what he had just heard, were all Lucians this hardheaded and such self-sacrificial idiots? He stood dumbfounded and rooted to the spot unable to fully process the way at which all of his taunts and threats had been simply brushed aside as though they were no more significant that a gnat that buzzes around waiting to be swatted.

“YOU DO REALIZE THAT THE MOMENT YOU STEP OUT OF THOSE DOORS YOU WILL BE ENEMIES OF THE EMPIRE AND WE WILL NOT HESISTATE TO TREAT YOU AS SUCH!” Eldrith shouted at the top of his lungs, completely and utterly bewildered that these Lucians would go through so much trouble to save such an insignificant inconvenience. “YOU WOULD THROW EVERYTHING ASIDE TO PROTECT SOMETHING THAT YOU KNOW ABSOLUTELY NOTHING ABOUT?!?”

None of the Lucians bothered dignifying the enraged prince with a response, their unbridled departure would speak volumes louder than anything they would be able to say.

“Comon Prompto,” Noct smiled as he locked eyes with the blonde still securely wrapped around Cor’s torso. “I think it’s about time we all got out of here, don’t you?”

Prompto was still visibly shaken, but still managed a small nod and Noctis was almost positive he could see the faintest glimpse of a smile perch itself upon the blonde’s face along with a dampness that was quickly biting at the corner of his eyes as the four of them emerged from the palace and into the welcoming sunshine that seemed like such a stranger in this frozen wasteland.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments are always appreciated. :)
> 
> Free to check out my blog on tumblr! [ever-at-your-side-15](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/ever-at-your-side-15)


	8. Doubt

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had honestly hoped to get this chapter up a bit sooner, but as it turned out, there were quite a few other things that didn't seem to want that to happen, but I finally did it! Had some stuff happen recently which took a bit to bounce back from, and then work has definitely been keeping me super busy and that in turn, did not allow for much time at all for me to work on my writing... D: Not to mention, I ended up working through some serious edits on this chapter to get it to something that I was decently satisfied with. But! I think ultimately, things ended up coming together pretty well despite everything, so I hope you guys enjoy!!
> 
> Thanks for all the continued support, it's much appreciated!

Despite Eldrith’s threats, once Noctis and company reached the official Lucian transport, they were able to quickly reunite with the small Crownsguard unit that had been in charge of accompanying the Lucian Royal family to Niflheim. While they were waiting for Noct and everyone else to arrive, the Crownsguard had already planned out the quickest escape route they would need to take in order to get everyone out of Gralea as quickly as possible; and before he knew it, Noctis was already staring out the window, watching the outer limits of Gralea pass by.

Once everyone had a chance to settle themselves within the large transport that resembled something of an overly tricked out RV-like vehicle, Cor was finally able to take a few moments to fill Regis in on everything that had occurred back in the Emperor’s palace, with Noctis eagerly filling in any parts of the explanation that the Marshal wasn’t as clear on himself.

If Noctis was being completely honest, he was really surprised how well his father took to the entire thing. He had been convinced that he would have to be constantly defending his actions and standing up for Prompto wherever and whenever possible, but that really hadn’t been the case thus far. Maybe it was due to the fact that his dad was more concerned about their newly broken alliance between Lucis and Niflheim, or maybe he just needed more time to process exactly how bad Noctis had fucked things up between the two previously allied countries. Whatever reason it was though, the prince was thankful for it.

From the moment that everyone had loaded into the large vehicle, it seemed as though Prompto was all but attached to the young Lucian prince’s side and Noctis couldn’t help but feel a pang of guilt strike him knowing how uneasy the blonde had to be feeling after everything was said and done. It certainly didn’t help when the vast majority of the occupants of the vehicle were in fact, very stern looking, and not to mention heavily armed Crownsguard soldiers.

As much as it pained Noct to see his friend so tense and anxious, he would have honestly been more surprised than anything if Prompto hadn’t been affected by the large group of people gathered in such a small space with him. Prompto had grown up almost completely and totally isolated from any human contact whatsoever for the vast majority of his life, so it would be an understatement to say that it had to be very stressful for the blonde being in the immediate vicinity of so many threatening looking strangers.

Probably one of the most unfortunate things about Prompto growing up in complete isolation as he had, was the fact that any person that the blonde had actually had the opportunity to interact with besides Noct, had always treated him like a monster that didn’t even deserve to die; which didn’t bode well when he was herded into the cozy confines of the transport vehicle.  

After all was said and done, Noct was pretty sure that it was a safe bet to guess that social interaction was not one of Prompto’s strengths at the moment. Although, now that the young prince really thought about it, whenever it was just the two of them, there were many times that Prompto really seemed as though he might actually be mistaken for a normal teenager as the two laughed and joked like old friends, which they pretty much were.

As the next few minutes passed by, Noct couldn’t help but notice Prompto’s eyes continuing to scan around the cabin, quickly darting from place to place, the blonde seemingly focusing on anyone and anything that moved or breathed in the spacious cabin. His attention most frequently returning back and forth from a large group of Crownsguard sitting around a small table, just a short distance away from where Noctis and Prompto had settled themselves.

“Don’t worry Prom, I know all the Crownsguard look super intimidating, but I promise that they’re here to protect us from harm, not the other way around.” He attempted to reassure his friend as he casually draped his left arm up and across Prompto’s shoulders before giving him a quick, comforting squeeze, drawing the attention of the blonde once more from the murmuring group of soldiers.

Prompto, however, remained silent. He knew that he should trust what Noct was saying, but the Crownsguard soldiers reminded him so much of the Magitek Troopers that had guarded his cell, and ten years of abuse at their hands was not something that was that easy to forget. Sure, the job of the Crownsguard was to protect the royal family of Lucis, but last time Prompto checked, that certainly didn’t extend to and include prisoners of Niflheim.

After it was clear that Prompto wasn’t going to respond, an uneasy silence fell between the two boys and Noctis was almost thankful when Cor finally approached them looking a bit tired, but otherwise his expression remaining quite impassive.

“It’s going to be quite some time until we will be able to reach Tenebrae. We will re-assess our situation once we arrive and then decide if we want to stay the night, or if we simply continue on our way back to Altissia. I have the feeling that taking certain recent events into account, we will probably choose the latter.” Cor stated with just about as much enthusiasm for the plan as Prompto seemed to have being in the vicinity of so many Crownsguard soldiers.

Without giving the boys much time to be able to reply, the Marshal decided instead to shift his focus specifically to the blonde. “Well, now that we have a bit of a respite, I want to take a few moments to check over your injuries, kid.” Cor grunted. “I’m certainly no doctor… but I would like to make sure there is nothing that is going to require immediate medical attention. After I get an idea about what we’re working with, we can start to try and figure out what things we need to take care of right now and what we can hold off on treating until we have the proper means to help you back in Insomnia.”

Prompto quickly realized that Cor had meant this as more of an order rather than a request, and yet in his own way, the older man seemed as though he was at least trying to be sympathetic and Prompto would gladly accept anything from the man as long as it was not the seething hatred he had been on the receiving end of when they had first met.

The blonde nodded slowly at the Marshal’s request, but regretted his decision almost instantly when not even a second later Noct had started pull away from him. Before he even realized what he was doing, Prompto found himself vigorously shaking his head, quickly muttering the likes of, “It doesn’t really hurt anymore… I’m fine, I swear...”

“Don’t worry Prom… I told you before, I’m not going anywhere.” Noct spoke softly as he sensed the blonde’s sudden stiffness and growing anxiety. “Cor just needs to check you out real quick, but he can’t do that if we’re practically on top of one another; it won’t take long, and then we’ll be free to do whatever you want.”

Another moment passed and Prompto finally nodded albeit a bit reluctantly, trying his best to keep his rising feelings of panic under control. The memories of everything that those Niflheim scientists had done to him over the past few weeks still burned fresh in his mind, and he couldn’t help but remember that things had always started out with just a “simple check-up.” Prompto wanted to believe that Cor wasn’t like the rest of those scientists, and everything that the man had done to help Noct and him escape the Emperor’s palace after their initial altercation seemed to confirm this belief; and yet, the blonde just couldn’t shake the feeling that he should have done something to avoid causing all this trouble.

The blonde was instantly shocked out of his current reverie when he felt the Marshal’s cool, strong hands make contact with his bare skin. He felt his body flinch from the unexpected contact, and at first the older man drew back, with a concerned look on his face.

“Sorry…” Prompto muttered quietly. “T-That was my bad… just, just keep going so we can get this over with, okay?” he finished, before once again falling into complete silence. When Cor started once again with his ministrations, Prompto didn’t flinch nearly as bad, but it still made the blonde stiffen and thank the astrals when Noctis offered one of his free hands for the uneasy blonde to clutch gratefully.

Cor continued with his prodding and poking for what seemed like an eternity, and right as Prompto had just about convinced himself that he couldn’t take it for even a second longer, the Marshal mercifully drew his hands back to his side and proceeded to jot down some brief notes on a small notebook he had brought with him.

“Well, we certainly have a lot of work to do when we make it back to the Crown City; but it doesn’t seem as though there are any life-threatening issues that require immediate attention right now. There are a few things that certainly have the potential to develop into a serious problem though, so we may have to do some preventative care when we get to Altissia if those particular problems seem to get any worse. Altissia has been known for having pretty top of the line medical care, but there are definitely a few things that we are going to want to wait to address until after we get back to Insomnia.” The Marshal started muttering mostly to himself than to either Noctis or Prompto.

“As long as we don’t run into any unexpected roadblocks, and we arrive back in Insomnia without too much delay, we should be able to get everything squared away before any one particular thing has a chance to become too big of a problem to manage.” Cor finished as he capped his pen, closed his notebook and placed it securely back inside his jacket pocket.

“For now, just try to rest and take it easy so that you don’t make anything worse; and for all that is good and holy in this world, DO NOT put any pressure on that ankle of yours.” Cor finished, before turning back around to walk over towards where Regis had sat down, the two men quickly getting deep into discussion with each other and Prompto could wager a pretty good guess on what or _who_ that conversation involved.

The blonde quickly proceeded to let out a huge sigh of relief that he hadn’t even realized he had been holding once the Marshal bid farewell and walked off to rejoin Noct’s father. He had been honestly terrified that Cor was going to bring up something akin to the topic of attempting to re-set his ankle, because that was certainly not something that Prompto even wanted to think about right now. Mostly, he just didn’t think that he would be able to cope with the pain that he knew it would inevitably bring… at least not right now. Deep down he knew that it was stupid to try and put something like this off; and things would only get harder to overcome the longer they waited, but he just didn’t care about all that right now. He had so many other things that he was still struggling to deal with right now, so he would just have to suck it up and learn to deal with the consequence when the time came.

“Well, seems like all we can do now is sit back and relax until we get back to Tenebrae,” Noct quickly noted, pulling Prompto’s attention away from the two older Lucians. “Like Cor said, we probably won’t spend much time in Tenebrae and from there, we’ll continue straight on to Altissia. We’ll need to catch a boat from there to get back to Lucis… it’s definitely a long journey, but it’s pretty easy to pass the time. I can let you borrow my phone if you want to distract yourself with it. There’s actually this one game that I’m rather obsessed with right now and I’m pretty sure you’d like -shit…!” Noct suddenly froze, his casual smile and previous thoughts lost on his tongue as his face suddenly tightened. “Six almighty… I meant to ask Cor something while he was over here checking you out, but I got distracted and totally blanked. I’m gonna go ask him real quick before I space out again and forget completely. You going to be okay here for a minute?” The raven-haired prince inquired.

Prompto nodded with a small, “Yeah,” before Noct nodded and ran off towards the two men that were already deep in discussion with each other. With Noct no longer there to distract him, Prompto’s mind started to wander and try to wade through the absolute mass of things that were currently consuming him.

Ever since he had set foot in the large vehicle, he couldn’t shake the feeling that everyone other than Noct, Cor and the King were watching his every move. It was like they were all just waiting to see what would happen… what he would do. What exactly was it that they were expecting him to do though? He wasn’t sure if it was just the sheer paranoia that was putting him on edge, but he could have sworn he had already seen a number of the Crownsguard soldiers situated nearby staring at him out of the corner of his eye; presumably while they thought he wasn’t paying attention.

Prompto had to admit, if they were, they were being incredibly smart and subtle about it… so it was near impossible to get any kind of solid confirmation. Thus far, they had been very careful not to glance over if there was even the slightest chance that Noct might notice them, and they only started whispering amongst themselves and laughing, or making gestures, after Noct had left to discuss whatever it was that he had wanted to confirm with Cor. The two, now three Lucians were so focused on their own conversation that it was incredibly unlikely that Noct would notice them at this point, even with the soldiers starting to allow themselves to become less inconspicuous than they had been moments earlier.

They started motioning towards Noct, and Prompto thought that maybe… just maybe, there was still a small chance that they could have just been talking about Noct. Then again, Prompto seriously doubted that highly skilled soldiers like themselves would so openly gossip and joke about their own crown prince… especially when his father, the King of Lucis, was also in the immediate vicinity.

No, they had to be talking about him, and that only served to make Prompto feel exponentially more uncomfortable than he already had been before. At least when he had been locked away below Niflheim, he never had to worry about people staring at him or judging him right in front of his face. He knew that he was undoubtedly the topic of many conversations, but at least he had never been present to witness anything first-hand. The young blonde wished desperately that there was somewhere he could go, some place he could hide himself to escape the soldiers’ gaze, but being as he had been ordered not to put any weight onto his injured ankle, that was pretty much impossible right now.

“According to our squad leader, I heard the blonde kid over there’s a Niff... I also heard that we’re taking him back to Lucis as a PoW…” One of the men muttered, his voice now _just_ loud enough for Prompto to hear if he really concentrated.

“Why the hell would we bring a damned Niff back to Lucis with us…? That’s just ridiculous… I don’t give a rat’s ass about a single one of um... they can all just drop dead for all I care.” The glaive who was sitting on the first man’s right quickly replied, louder this time, but still low enough to ensure the Lucian Prince would not hear them.

“If he’s really a Niff though, tell me why the hell we are allowing him so close to Prince Noctis, huh?” The glaive sitting on the other man’s side interjected. “He doesn’t even have any restraints on him or anything… if it were up to me, he would be in irons from head to toe. We can’t afford to take any risks now that everything has gone to absolute shit with the Empire, even if it’s only a single, scrawny Niff.”

“If you ask me, they shoulda just thrown the poor bastard in the back with all the other baggage, it’s not like he is anything more than stolen goods from the Empire… am I right, boys?” The first Crownsguard snickered as the other soldiers nodded and laughed in agreement.

After he caught his breath, the first Glaive continued, “You think Cor coulda brought him back with us as a means to torture information about the Empire out of him…? That’s about the only use I could see for it… hell, it’s not like they wouldn’t do the exact same thing to us now that the treaty has been suspended indefinitely.”

At that comment, Prompto visibly shrunk back against his seat, desperately wishing that he could just disappear into thin air. There had to be some way that he could get out of sight of the malicious grins and condemning gazes of the soldiers, even if it meant disobeying Cor’s previous orders to stay still. Prompto couldn’t say for sure if the soldiers were aware that he could hear them, but judging by how they had become increasingly less concerned with keeping their conversation to themselves, Prompto was pretty damn sure that they _wanted_ him to overhear them.

“Yeah, my thoughts exactly.” The solider on the right nodded, followed by the soldier on the left. The soldiers kept talking, but Prompto didn’t need to or want to hear anything else and frantically continued searching for somewhere or something he could do to isolate himself, before he completely lost himself.

He would never admit it out loud, but every careless and crass comment that the Crownsguard soldiers made against him cut him deep; the rising tension cutting into the blonde as painfully as the bite of a serrated edge tearing away at his open flesh. He wasn’t sure what he had done to make these men dislike him so much, but it was becoming abundantly clear that even if Noctis wanted Prompto to come back with him to Lucis, he was alone in that particular sentiment.

Heaving a slight and shaky sigh, the young blonde frowned. Why had he foolishly let Noct convince him that things would be any different in Lucis than in Niflheim?? Prompto had at least hoped that people wouldn’t see him and instantly condemn him, but the way these men were talking about him… it was pretty much a perfect copy of the way that the Niflheim scientists had discussed things while they had been running all their tests. Just the mere thought of those men sent large tremors through the blonde’s slender body. In the end, it seemed as though Prompto was just going to have to accept the fact that maybe his situation hadn’t changed quite as much as he had originally hoped it would… was all the trouble that he had caused Noct really worth all this? Was _he_ worth all this? Prompto just wasn’t so sure anymore.

“What in the ever-living hell is going on over here?!” A voice suddenly yelled and Prompto was instantly convinced that he must have done something very wrong. He wasn’t sure what he had done other than just sit still where he had been talking to Noct a few moments ago, but what else could have possibly happened to make the voice sound so angry? It HAD to be something that he did… he was the odd man out here. Was it because he had been thinking about trying to disobey Cor’s order to not move from his seat? He wasn’t sure how that was possible, but Prompto had no idea what else he could have possibly done. He wracked his brain and started furiously thinking how he could possibly explain himself and how to best ask for forgiveness, when the figure that belonged to the very angry voice quickly passed by where he was sitting and instead focused its attention on the group of Crownsguard soldiers laughing with each other like they didn’t have a care in the world.

“N-Noct…?” Prompto muttered in disbelief as he recognized the raven black hair and pitch-black clothes he had come to know so well. He had been so concerned with trying to figure out how he had fucked up that his mind practically blanked and he somehow his brain didn’t instantly recognize the voice that had been his only source of comfort for the past ten years.

It seemed Prompto wasn’t the only person that had been shaken and flustered by the Prince’s sudden intervention. The group of soldiers who had been previously joking and laughing were suddenly stone still and instantly stiff as their furious Prince stormed over in their direction.

The entire cabin had gone completely silent at the Prince’s exclamation; all attention completely focused on the prince and his confrontation with the group of Crownsguard.

“P-P-Prince Noctis…!” One of the Crownsguard shot up into attention, caught completely and utterly off-guard and thus could do nothing but stumble hopelessly over his words. “I was… w-we were.. just d-discussing your-”

“Yeah, I heard what you were six-damed discussing; and I would suggest that if the lot of you do not want to be stuck on cleaning duty for the rest of your life, then I better not hear you bastards talking about stuff that you have no knowledge of, and avoid jumping to stupid and outlandish conclusions…” Noctis demanded harshly. “I was just heading over to ask Prompto something, which is his name by the way, if you had taken two six-damned seconds to ask me or him, and what do I hear but my father’s elite Crownsguard soldiers gossiping like a bunch of young school girls…”

“Y-Your h-highness-” The Crownsguard in the middle who had initially stirred things up, stammered as he also tried and failed to defend himself against the Prince’s relentless onslaught. Although Prompto wasn’t involved in the current confrontation, he couldn’t help but freeze as well, unable to do anything but continue watch the events that were unfolding before him.

“I don’t give a shit about what you thought you knew about Prompto, but why don’t I go ahead and clear up a few things for you since you seem to not have a fucking clue about what is going on here.” The furious raven continued as he fought the urge to throttle the men who were a sorry excuse for the elite soldiers tasked with protecting the Lucian Crown at all costs. Noctis may not have had any say in how Prompto was treated back in Niflheim, but he sure as hell wasn’t going to allow anyone, especially his own personal guard, to take advantage of his friend now that there was something that he could do about it.

“For the record, Prompto is _not_ our prisoner… he is our guest, and if all goes well, I will see to it that he is able to become a full-fledged citizen of Lucis. It doesn’t matter where he came from, he will be treated with all the respect that you show any other citizen of Lucis.” The Crownsguard soldiers were obviously still quite shaken by the Prince’s tirade, but it was also apparent that they were not overly thrilled with the declarations their Prince was making. A member of the Crownsguard’s sole purpose in life was to protect the Lucian royal family and serve them as loyal subjects until the day they died. So, whether they liked it or not, the King and Prince’s word was law, and to disobey a royal decree would be nothing than the most shameful act a Crownsguard soldier could commit.

“Am I understood?” Noctis finished, his expression stoic and unrelenting, just daring one of the soldiers to argue with him.

“Yes, Your Highness…!” The voices of the soldiers shouted back, their voices echoing in a chorus around the room.

“I think I can speak for all of the Crownsguard soldiers, Your Highness, when I say that it will not happen again.” The soldier that had seemed to incite the entire ordeal declared.

“See to it that it doesn’t.” Noctis shot back, still furious that members of the Crownsguard would conduct themselves in such a manner. Although honestly, if he really thought about it, he would have to admit that maybe he _had_ been a little bit naive to think that everyone would react to Prompto’s arrival as amicably as Cor and his father had. After all, even though Niflheim and Lucis had technically been allies for many years, the resentment that had existed between the two kingdoms had barely ceased, even when the treaty _had_ been in full effect.

Now satisfied with having ripped into the offending soldiers, the young prince took a deep breath, composed himself, and turned back towards where Prompto was still sitting completely frozen, right where Noctis had left him a few minutes ago.

“Sorry about that…” Noctis apologized as he collapsed back down onto the plush seats that they had been lounging on. “I was really hoping that our Crownsguard would have enough sense to carry themselves with more dignity and respect than that. I mean yeah, I guess it is kind of odd that we are randomly bringing someone from Niflheim back to Insomnia… but they should still know better than to jump to ridiculous assumptions…!” Noct complained, before pausing as he noted the still fallen look on his friend’s face before finishing, “They’ll come around Prom… you’ll see. They just need time to get to know you… they can actually be pretty cool sometimes when they aren’t being complete idiots.”

“Yeah, I’m sure that we’ll be fast friends once we get back to Lucis...” Prompto replied quietly and yet with enough sarcasm to make Noctis laugh.

“Just get two or three drinks into them and that wouldn’t be so outlandish.” The prince continued to laugh at the prospect of ever seeing himself and Prompto going out to drink with a big group of Crownsguard. The mere idea would probably give Ignis a stroke, but Noctis was pretty sure that Gladio would insist on coming along with the excuse of protecting him, but really just wanting to prove that he could drink all of the other soldiers under the table.

“Hmmm… maybe not with the Crownsguard, but you and I definitely need to hit up the Insomnia nightlife… the least I would probably be able to get away with would be having Gladio tailing us from a distance, but I’m sure we could probably lose him in one of the clubs if we really wanted to. How does that sound for a crazy night out?” Noctis continued to laugh while waiting for the blonde to join in with the conversation. When he didn’t, the raven turned his entire body so that he was directly facing the blonde, wondering why his friend had gone stone silent, yet again.

“Prom? You in there, buddy?” Noct asked again, although the expression on his friend’s face was something that Noct wasn’t really sure what to make of. So, the Lucian prince then proceeded to wave his hand directly in front of the other boy’s face in an attempt to shake him out of whatever weird trance he had gotten himself stuck in. Finally, after about another five seconds or so of Noct attempting to get the blonde’s attention, Prompto finally seemed to shake himself out of whatever mood he had gotten himself into as he attempted to focus his attention on the confused prince, obviously having completely missed what Noct had been taking about for the past minute or so.

“S-Sorry. I was just thinking…” Prompto muttered, still frowning.

“Seriously though, what’s got you so distracted? Don’t tell me you’re still hung up on all that stupid shit those idiot Crownsguard soldiers were saying, are you? Because really, you don’t need to worry about it. They’re just being dumbasses and talking about stuff that they have no idea about.” Noct replied once again, and he wouldn’t stop saying it until Prompto finally believed him.

“But… they’re right…” Prompto finished, his voice now a hushed whisper, which Noct almost hadn’t been able to catch because his voice was so unsteady and quiet.

“What?” The prince visibly gaped, refusing to believe the words that came out of the blonde’s mouth. “That’s ridiculous! You know that-” Noctis was practically yelling now, unable to control himself with the idea that Prompto would actually say such a thing. However, before he could finish, said blonde cut him off, this time his voice much louder and forceful than it had been moments before.

“No, I don’t!” The blonde shouted, and louder than Noct had ever heard him yell before in the ten years that they had known each other. “You think I didn’t catch all the crazy shit that just happened back there? You think that I don’t know that EVERYTHING THAT JUST HAPPENED BACK THERE WAS BECAUSE OF ME??” Prompto continued to shout, his voice now loud enough that it could easily be heard anywhere in the large cabin they were currently sitting in.

“The treaty that has been in effect between Niflheim and Lucis for six knows how long is now completely null and void and Niflheim has all but officially declared war on Lucis which will bring countless deaths, and it’s all because I was selfish and didn’t want to be experimented on by those scientists until they found a way to kill me for good…!” Noct could see the tears that were quickly building in those tired, pale blue orbs, threatening to spill over at any second.

As much as Noctis wanted to comfort his the clearly very distressed blonde, and tell him everything that he was saying was completely untrue, he just couldn’t lie to his best friend like that. Not now, and not after everything the two of them had been through. Just because Prompto escaping the palace may have served as a catalyst to disrupt relations between Niflheim and Lucis, that didn’t mean Noctis would allow Prompto to believe that any of this was _his_ fault. At the same time, the prince also came to the realization that the blonde must have been bottling all these fears up inside ever since the shit that had started with Cor earlier in the morning, and he realized that Prompto needed to be able to lay everything out in the open before he completely shut down due to the stress of it all.

“It’s true that the treaty between our two nations is over, but you’re not the one at fault here, Prom. _You_ didn’t make the decision to run.” Noctis quickly replied, desperate to assuage the blonde’s fears. “I did… and Cor did… and my father did too. It was each one of us that made the call and made our own decisions, and _we_ are the ones that have to live with the consequences of those decisions, _not you_.” Noct argued in as genuine a voice as he could possibly muster. He couldn’t have Prompto continue to think for even a moment longer that any of this was his fault, not one more second, because _that_ was completely unfair and untrue.

“Regardless of who made the decision, _I’m_ the reason that things fell apart… if it hadn’t been for you rescuing me, none of this would have ever happened!” The blonde shouted back, quieter than before, but still refusing to back down against the Lucian prince’s constant protests all the same.

“It’s not that I’m ungrateful for everything that you have done for me Noct… I sure as hell wouldn’t be alive or probably even sane without everything that you have done for me these past ten years… but I also wouldn’t be able live with myself knowing that countless innocent lives will be lost because you were protecting me. I _can’t_ have that on my conscience… it’s not fair to the millions of Insomnian and Niflheim citizens that have now been put in danger just because my selfishness…” the blonde finished in a low mutter.

“What are you saying, Prom?” Noctis quickly asked, worried now that this was less about laying out any fears that the blonde still had and more about trying to make some kind of point that Noctis was pretty sure that he wasn’t going to like the sound of.

“I’M SAYING THAT YOU SHOULD TAKE ME BACK TO THE PALACE!” Prompto shouted once more, his voice broken and his eyes shining with a cruel sadness that tore Noct’s heart to shreds. “T-Then maybe… just m-maybe… the Emperor will f-forgive Lucis… and reinstate the t-treaty...” His voice was now back down to a quiet and defeated whisper as he desperately tried to stem and wipe away the tears now quickly streaming down his face.

“You don’t really believe that do you, Prom?” Noct asked cautiously, not wanting to say something that might set the blonde off again. It was clear now that Prompto was not taking things nearly as well as Noct had might have originally thought he had been, and the raven felt a little guilty that he hadn’t realized how bothered Prompto really was with how things had played out until things had gotten to this point. There was a long pause, and for a moment Noct was worried that Prompto would stop talking again, but finally after what seemed like an excruciatingly long wait, the blonde finally opened his mouth, obviously taking great care to make sure that he was choosing his words very carefully.

“You have done more for me these past ten years than I ever would have thought any one individual could…” Prompto paused taking a deep breath, “All I’ve ever wanted to do was to find a way to repay you for your kindness and generosity. You never expected anything for it, b-but… if s-sacrificing myself to the Empire will keep you and your kingdom out of harm’s way, I’ll do it.” His voice was shaking, but it also carried a certain air of determination and resolve that Noct couldn’t help but be impressed by considering the circumstances.

Realizing the weight of this newest revelation, Noct couldn’t help but be stunned into silence. He couldn’t believe that Prompto would be willing to literally give up his life and his dream to leave Gralea and see Insomnia with his own two eyes… just to repay some imaginary debt he somehow decided he owed the raven? Noct could understand the reasoning, and have great awe and respect for anyone willing to go to such great lengths, especially at such personal cost. Whether Prompto knew it or not though, Noct had made a promise too… and that promise was to make sure that the blonde would be able to live a long and happy life as a person, and not some ridiculous secret test subject hidden in the bowels of the Niflheim Emperor’s palace.

Noctis had a pretty good idea of what he was going to need to do now, he only hoped that Prompto would understand why once he had finished.

“I never asked or wanted anything from you Prom.” The young prince began and he could see the confusion and hurt clear on the blonde’s still tear-streaked face. “But now, I want you to know that this isn’t your fault, and it isn’t your burden to bear. Things between Lucis and Niflheim have been teetering right on the edge recently; you even said it yourself the last time I visited you. Just because things played out the way they did today, doesn’t mean that our two kingdoms would have never gone to war. What happened today is just a convenient excuse for Niflheim to use in order to finally be able to declare and all-out war on Lucis. With or without the events of today, it was inevitable that in time, the Peace Talks would have dissolved and Niflheim and Lucis would once again clash as enemies. That is a fact. I know it, Cor knows it, my father knows it, and you should know that too. It was never a matter of _if_ , but always a matter of _when_.” Noctis finished, taking a deep breath and silently praying that Prompto would finally be able to see through what had to be Niflheim’s last-ditch effort to finally reclaim what they had been so desperate to regain all along. One last thing and Noctis would hopefully be able to conquer any last remaining doubts from the blonde’s mind.

“I want to ask you a question Prom, and I want you to answer completely honestly. Don’t think about how you think you _should_ answer or any other bullshit like that… I want you to answer with complete 100% in the moment honesty, okay?”

Prompto looked up and the two boys managed to lock gazes, the blonde utterly confused with what Noct was trying to do, his mind still consumed with all of the thoughts of what he would be missing and what would be waiting for him back in the heart of Gralea should he offer himself back up to the Empire.

“What do _you_ want to do, Prompto?” Noct asked. It was a deceptively simple question, one that you would think could be answered in an instant without any thought, but it was so incredibly unexpected that Prompto could do nothing but just sit there, shocked at the question that had just been asked of him. “I want you to do what you want to do. Stop being so six-damned selfless for once in your life, and think about what it is that you _truly_ want. Do you really want to go back to that “palace of nightmares” …? Or… do you want to come with me to live in Insomnia like we’ve talked since we first met? And I want to hear you say it out loud.”

Yet another pause as the shock of the situation froze Prompto as though he were made of stone. Noct was… he giving him a choice…? Allowing him to choose what _he_ wanted…? Not what was best for someone else, best for the group, or even best for the kingdom… but genuinely what was it that _he_ wanted? So, maybe… just maybe… this one time… did Noct’s question mean that it would really be okay for Prompto to be just a little bit selfish, just this one time?

“I-I want… I-I w-want…” he muttered, trying to figure out a way to force the traitorous words from his brain to and out of his locked lips,

“I WANT TO STAY WITH YOU!” Prompto yelled, his inhibitions completely slashed in that instant, the blonde now breaking down as he starting to sob harder than he ever had before in his life and Noct simply sat there smiling softly as he pulled the blonde into a tight and reassuring hug, not caring for a moment that his shirt was being completely soaked with the blonde’s tears. Noct knew that all of the other occupants of the cabin had almost certainly witnessed the entire heartfelt exchange between him and Prompto unfold, I mean really… how could they have missed it, but he didn’t care. Maybe now everyone else would get a little better of an understanding of why and how important the blonde youth was to him.

After a few minutes of continued, heart-rending, and practically uninterrupted sobbing, Prompto had finally started to calm down, and the blonde was no longer gasping desperately for breath between fits of bawling loudly into Noct’s shirt. After that, things had pretty much gone back to business as usual in the cabin, and Prompto was now content with simply resting his head between Noct’s shoulder and collarbone, his hands lightly grasping handfuls of Noct’s now soaked black t-shirt. Prompto hadn’t said anything since his heart-felt proclamation, and the Lucian prince hadn’t bothered to start some meaningless conversation just because things had gotten a little quiet. He knew that Prompto still had to be completely and utterly exhausted and didn’t want to keep the blonde from what was surely a very, well-needed rest. He had watched as Prompto’s eyes slowly started to drift shut, but Noctis also noted how they always seemed to dart open again as though the blonde was actively trying to avoid falling asleep.

“You know that you can fall asleep if you want to.” Noctis suggested softly, “I’ll be here to make sure nothing happens, and I’m going to stay right here the entire time. I know that you have to be crazy exhausted, so if you want I can always get Cor to grab you a pillow, since I can’t imagine that my shoulder isn’t the most comfortable thing in the world to be resting on.” The prince finished as he continued to watch his friend’s eyes drift shut and then dart back open yet again.

“S’kay, I’m comfortable… unless you want me to move?” Prompto replied in a slow, quiet whisper, not even having the energy to turn his head so that his eyes could meet the raven’s.

“Nope. If you’re comfortable, I’m comfortable. Like I said before, I want you to be able to make the decisions that make you happy from now on, okay?” Noctis replied, as he gently started running his fingers through Prompto’s soft, golden hair in an effort to help coax the blonde to surrender to the pull of what must be desperately needed slumber.

A “mhmm...” and quiet sigh of contentment was the only confirmation that the young prince received from the blonde as his breathing finally started to even out what seemed like mere moments later and Noctis smiled as he watched his friend finally able to rest easy. He knew that they weren’t out of the woods yet, and there was still a bunch of stuff that he would have to help Prompto get through before things could even start to be considered “normal,” but at least for right now… Noct was satisfied, and he was pretty sure that Prompto was too. They would face what they needed to face in Tenebrae, Altissia and Insomnia, but for right now what Prompto needed was a good night’s rest, and Noctis was going to make damn sure that he got it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!
> 
> Comments are always appreciated. :)
> 
> Free to check out my tumblr! [ever-at-your-side-15](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/ever-at-your-side-15)


	9. Homecoming

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fuck me, man. Fuck me. xD 
> 
> Wow, this past month has just been such a whirlwind for me and not really in a good way, unfortunately. Long story short, my car got totaled a few weeks ago and between work and trying to sort out stuff with that, I have had barely any time to work any kind of writing... and just as things were finally starting to slow down a bit at work too... *sigh* Although...! I just so happen to have a few free days coming up for the holiday, so who knows what will happen?? ;)
> 
> Anyways, hope you enjoy! <3

“Eldrith… would you be so kind to enlighten me as to why is it that I keep receiving reports that you let the Lucians waltz right out of Gralea without so much as a fight? You _assured_ me that you had this issue _completely_ under control.” Iedolas’s voice was slow, calculated and deliberate.

If a stranger were to walk into the expansive room, they would probably assume that the Emperor was having a normal conversation with his son, Niflheim’s own Crown Prince. However, Eldrith and anyone else who had spent any decent amount of time with the Niflheim Emperor, would know that it was merely a well-crafted guise. A mask that had been manufactured and perfected over many long years to seamlessly hold back the unbridled wrath and fury that was bubbling up underneath.

Eldrith, who normally carried himself with an over confident, self-righteous and entitled presence was now standing frozen to the spot; nervous and unsure of what his father would do to punish him for his inability to deliver on his assurances. If there was one thing he knew for sure though, it was that in Niflheim, failure was _not_ an option; _especially_ when you were the Crown Prince.  

Feeling the biting stare of his father, Eldrith couldn’t seem to collect his thoughts for long enough to actually tell Iedolas what had happened, and why he had been overpowered. The words which had seemed so clear and obvious before, were broken and unintelligible on his lips. So, when the young prince remained still and soundless, Iedolas broke the tenuous silence himself, his patience getting dangerously close to his breaking point.

“I am shocked at the level of striking incompetence… and from my own flesh and blood of all things.” Iedolas looked down upon the prince with about as much disgust as one would gaze upon a dead and decaying animal before them.

“How can I expect you to be able to continue my tireless efforts to guide our great empire along the path towards our ever-glowing glory, if you cannot restrain a handful of Lucian soldiers and a useless and half-gone experiment???” His voice rising quickly in both volume and ferocity, Eldrith’s instincts now screaming at him, preparing him for whatever would or could happen next. “If you think that I will allow a failure like you to ascend the throne after everything that has just transpired, you would find yourself sorely mistaken.”

“F-Father I-” Eldrith finally managed to stumble out; but before he could get much further, he was harshly cut off.

“I don’t want to hear your excuses, boy!” Iedolas demanded, his voice bounding around the room as though magnified, shaking Eldrith to the core. “You had the _entire_ might of our fearsome Magitek Infantry behind you and despite that, the Lucians _still_ escaped; and without so much as a scratch on them…!”

“They were cowards and only won because of their dirty tricks!” Eldrith yelled back, finally finding his voice, knowing that if he didn’t defend his actions or lack thereof, then there was no telling what would happen. It didn’t matter that the Emperor was his father, Iedolas would not hesitate to punish him just as harshly as anyone else because of some silly detail like being of the same blood. The Emperor only had time for those that served his purposes and that simple fact extended to his kin, as it did for all of his advisors, citizens and even enemies.

“They may have won the battle, but I will not allow them to win the war!” Eldrith declared. He would prove to his father that he was worthy to be Niflheim’s next Emperor, he _had_ to… because there just simply was no other option.

“I was foolish, and stupid, and I underestimated the Prince and those other Lucians… it will not happen again, I swear to you! By the glory of the great and powerful Niflheim Empire, I will not fail you!” Eldrith desperately pledged, only hoping that it would be enough to appease his father. “I will reclaim that which the Lucians so rudely stole from us and drag it back here before you, as proof of my dedication towards our cause!”

The room went completely silent as the young prince finished his determined plea. His heart was beating at what felt like a million times a minute as he waited anxiously for what his Father would say next. It was very likely that his entire future would be shaped based on how his Father decided to react.

After a few more heartrending moments of silence, his eyes refusing to leave or break eye contact with Iedolas’s, Eldrith almost couldn’t believe it when he saw a calculated grin appear across the old man’s features.

“Ah, yes.” Iedolas uttered, with just the ever so slightest of was that… a grin? “That is certainly what I was hoping you would say, my dearest son.” The emperor continued with a quick and uncharacteristic sound that almost sounded like a low rolling laugh. “Lucky for you, I am in a generous mood, and I have decided to permit you one more chance to prove you are still worthy of succeeding me as a future Emperor of Niflheim.”

For a moment, Eldrith couldn’t believe the words that had come out of his father’s mouth. His father was really going to give him another chance? It was… unexpected, to say the least. Although, if that truly was the case, then he could not afford to fool around this time. He would not, _could not_ fail.

He was about to thank his father profusely and assure him that he would not waste this second chance, when once again, Iedolas beat him to it.

“Eldrith, do not waste this opportunity.” The cold voice stated quite plainly. “For one that is ready to take hold of the almighty throne of Niflheim, this should be but a simple task. I hope for your sake, that you are able to succeed.” The Emperor’s face which had been pleased and relaxed, instantly became stone cold, his face expressionless. “Failure will not be tolerated a second time. You either retrieve our stolen property and bring it back alive… or do not return at all. Those are your only two options. So, my dearest son, I suggest you choose wisely.”

“Thank you, Father. I promise, I will not fail you!” Eldrith shouted once again and he really meant it. There were no other options at this point. It was either drag that piece of shit back with him to Niflheim and be able to finally carry on with life as normal, or fail and lose everything that he had ever known. It was a true all or nothing gamble. Eldrith quickly bowed to his Father before turning to leave the room and start preparations on the reclamation plan at once, before he heard his Father’s voice beckon him once more.

“Oh, and Eldrith… before you leave, I should mention that I will be watching you closely. I expect you to carry out your mission in a way that is expected of Niflheim royalty.” Iedolas added quite plainly, which caused the young prince to halt his retreat and turn around to once more face the older man.

“I will make you proud, Father.” Eldrith nodded adamantly.

“I expect nothing less than perfection from my own flesh and blood.” Iedolas nodded, but instead of sending the boy off, he steadily continued, “And to make sure that I get it, I have someone here that I would like you to meet. Someone who I believe will be of great help to you, and make sure that you do not fail.”

“But Father-” Eldrith tried to argue, before swiftly being silenced.

“The matter is not up for discussion.” Iedolas interjected, “I would like you to meet, Ardyn Izunia.”

As if on cue, a middle-aged man with red-violet hair and strong facial features dipped out from behind the Emperor’s throne. Eldrith couldn’t help but stare open-mouthed as the man practically melted from behind the surrounding shadows. “He shall be monitoring your progress and report directly to me; and should you fail, I have given him the authority to finish things himself.”

“It is an absolute pleasure to meet you, privileged young prince of Niflheim.” Ardyn bowed deeply as he approached Eldrith until he was less than an arm’s length away. “I _very_ much look forward to watching you work, but _please_ don’t mind me…! I assure you, you can feel free to go about your business as though I’m not even here… simply a fly on the wall as you might say.” The man finished, with a small laugh and a large, unsettling grin perched upon his face.

Eldrith really didn’t like the vibe he was getting from this Ardyn guy, he couldn’t really put it into words, but something about him… just felt off. Although much to his dismay, if anything was clear it was that his father had made all the compromises that he was willing to make today; and trying to convince him to call off the man grinning carelessly before him would be futile.

“If you insist,” Eldrith muttered absently,  “I don’t think I’ll have any trouble with pretending that you don’t exist…” He finished, before bowing deeply before his father and merely tipping his head towards the new stranger that would be his glorified babysitter for all intents and purposes in what had to be the most important mission of his life.

* * *

After the chaos of their sudden departure from Gralea, the journey of the Lucian party to Tenebrae was comparatively quite uneventful. Prompto slept practically the entire way, with Noctis stubbornly refusing to leave him by himself for any significant amount of time after the whole incident with the Crownsguard soldiers.

Their time spent in Tenebrae was minimal. Cor had made the argument that Tenebrae was still technically “Niff Territory,” and he was convinced that the longer the Lucian convoy stayed within Niflheim’s borders, the more of a chance they had to be attacked now that Lucis was officially at war with the Empire.

They all stayed just long enough to re-fuel and replenish their supplies before promptly continuing on their way to Altissia, the capital city of Accordo. Prompto continued to sleep through most of that trip too. Although, during the brief periods of time of which the blonde was not napping, or all together passed out, Noctis had decided to introduce his friend to his newest obsession, a game on his phone called King’s Knight. It was definitely an understatement to say that Prompto was instantly hooked.

Noctis spent practically all of the downtime they had helping Prompto get used to the controls and general game mechanics. Noctis also gleefully relayed everything one ever needed to know in regards to all the basic skills a player needed to be aware of in order to help your avatar continue to grow stronger.

Before they knew it, Cor was interrupting the two to let them know that they would be arriving in Altissia within the hour.

Still wanting to get back to Lucis as fast as possible, Cor once again insisted that they continue on without stopping. That being said, the boat that would carry them back to the familiar and welcoming shores of Lucis was packed up and ready to go in what seemed like no time at all.

Prompto couldn’t believe how quickly he found himself herded from the large vehicle that they had been riding in since their departure from Gralea, on to the impossibly large ship which would allow them to cross the vast ocean which connected the two warring countries.

Noct had at one point mentioned that they were on their way to a place called Galdin Quay, and Prompto was pretty sure he had seen a picture of the small port in one of the books that Noct had brought him on one of his recent visits to Niflheim. According to Noct, once they arrived at this Galdin Quay place, they would supposedly only have a relatively short drive back to the Crown City left.

* * *

“You ready to see Insomnia with your own eyes, Prom?” Noct asked with a grin plastered on his face as the scenery of the Leide region rushed by.

Prompto nodded with a quick, “Yeah, I can’t wait...!” he exclaimed excitedly, “All the picture I ever saw of it were incredibly stunning and beautiful; but I bet it’s going to be a million times more amazing being able to see it in person.”

“We’re just about at the Insomnia check point now, and then we just need to cross the bridge beyond and we’ll be there.” Noct replied, grinning and excited for the blonde to finally be able to see the place that he had been dreaming about for so long.

“Damn it feels like forever ago since I left Insomnia, even though it was really only a few days ago… I can’t wait to flop onto my bed and sleep for the next week…”

“Yeah, that sounds like a good plan to me.” Prompto laughed, as Noct stretched dramatically and proceeded to pretend to pass out against the large seat they had situated themselves on.

The two boys kept their attention glued to Noct’s phone, that is until the looming city walls of the Crown City finally came into view. From then on, Prompto’s eyes were as good as glued to the nearest car window. His eyes were open wide with a huge grin, seemingly permanently plastered across his features in pure anticipation of what wonders were hidden beyond the tall city walls before them.

As the convoy finally entered the city, Prompto was struck absolutely silent, his mouth agape in surprise at the sheer magnitude of the sight that met him.

The city was absolutely breathtaking and so much more beautiful than he could have ever imagined. Despite the fact that he had been looking at pictures of the Lucian capital for so many years now, everything seemed so different, so new. It was almost like he was seeing everything for the first time, which he pretty much was.

Huge skyscrapers stretched and reached for the skies, and the colors…  oh man, the colors were so vivid and welcoming. The likes of which Prompto was convinced could never have possibly existed back in the cold and desolate capital of Niflheim. Not only that, but the streets were absolutely packed with excited and energetic citizens lining the sidewalks, as well as completely swamped all immediate areas around them. The streets were so ridiculously crowded to the point where Prompto was concerned that they might hit someone, or that the people outside might be trying to force their way around or astral forbid, into the Regalia.

“What are they doing?” Prompto asked, quite confused by the mass of people surrounding them and their odd behavior.

“Well…” Noctis paused lightly, “They’re celebrating the return of their King to the Crown City.” Noctis shrugged as though all of this frenzied energy and behavior was completely normal. “It’s pretty well known that my father is well-loved by the citizens of Lucis. They revere him because he does everything in his power to protect the Lucian people. He is kind and compassionate, but also strong and unyielding to anything or anyone that serves as a threat to safety and peace that our people have enjoyed for so long.”

“Huh…” Prompto muttered to himself as he attempted to digest the information Noct had just revealed. Prompto hadn’t really seen much of the Lucian king apart from when they had been running to escape the Emperor’s palace back in Gralea, so he honestly hadn’t had a lot of time to really get much of an impression of him. Although at the same time, there was certainly something to be said by the fact that the king hadn’t ordered for him to immediately be surrendered back to Eldrith once the Lucian group had been confronted by said Niflheim prince.

He had protected him. Just like Noct, and just like Cor. Not only that, but he had protected him without even really knowing anything about him, apart from knowing the simple fact that Noct had wanted to protect him. Was that what rulers were supposed to do? Protect their own people? It was an oddly strange concept to Prompto, since he had never seen an ounce of compassion or kindness from anyone in Niflheim, let alone the Emperor, or even his own father until he had met Noct. If he was being frank, Insomnia almost seemed like it was too good to be true… like something from a dream he never wanted to wake up from, and he had been in it for all of a few short minutes.

“You better get used to it, since this is your home now too.” Noct smiled as he lightly nudged the blonde in his side, being careful not to agitate any areas that were still possibly sore or injured. “It won’t be long until you will be able to say that you are officially a Lucian citizen. In fact, I plan to bring the matter up personally with Cor and my Father once everyone manages to get settled back at the Citadel.”

Prompto found himself unable to do much apart from gingerly nodding, still not quite able to believe that he was actually in a car driving around the fabled Crown City.  It was all he had dreamed about visiting ever since first hearing the stories that Noct had started telling him about living in the lively city.

His eyes couldn’t seem to keep still as his focus kept darting around, trying to take in as much of the scene surrounding them as he possibly could before it was gone. The sky was so clear and bright blue, and the streets were covered in perfectly groomed foliage. Seriously, how much more perfect could this place be? Prompto’s only regret was that he wished there was some kind of way he could capture this feeling and all the amazing sights that he was seeing, so as to never forget them. Although, if he were being honest with himself, he wasn’t sure his mind would allow him to forget such euphoria, even if he wanted to.

Through the entire drive through the city, the citizens continued to gather en masse; which made the drive through the city that much longer. Although conveniently, Prompto had absolutely no arguments in being able to spend more time sitting by the window, drinking in all the new sights and sounds they passed by.

It wasn’t until the Regalia had pulled up to the entrance to the Citadel that the surrounding crowd seemed to dissipate. The cause of which, seeming to be a large group of Kingsglaive acting as human barriers as they worked to prevent the citizens from coming within a certain distance of the royal party as they exited the Regalia.

Prompto was particularly impressed at how calm and comfortable Noct remained in the moment that the door to the Regalia was pulled open. The awaiting blonde also couldn’t believe how bright out it was, as he was practically blinded for a few moments before his eyes had a chance to properly compensate for the drastic and sudden change in light.

As the door continued to remain ajar, Prompto could feel the comforting warmth of the rays from the sun as they continued to fill the cabin, caressing his skin gently. It was almost as though they were excitedly attempting to coax him out into the open air, which was a startling difference to the ruthless gusts of chilling and biting cold which met him exclusively back in his prison cell back in Gralea.

Noct quickly went to grab Prompto’s arm to help guide the blonde out of the vehicle without agitating his bad ankle, but was surprised when the blonde pulled back; a nervous frown donning his face for the first time since they had entered the city.

“Prom? What’s wrong?” Noct asked, not sure what had caused such a sudden shift in the blonde’s mood.

“Sorry… it’s nothing.” Prompto muttered quietly. “I’m… I just… I guess I’m a bit nervous.” He paused for a moment, closed his eyes, took a breath, and then continued. “I’m just not used to having so many people’s attention on me… I mean, I’m obviously not royalty. They… they’re going to know, Noct. They’ll know I don’t belong… and what if people find out... that I-I’m a…?”

“Don’t worry Prom,” Noct interjected. “Only people with strict clearance are allowed within the Citadel, and I’m sure we’ll figure out a plan to help you blend in better with the other Lucian citizens.” He assured his nervous friend. “It’s not like anyone apart from the small group of Crownsguard, Cor, My Father and myself even know that you’re not actually a Lucian. My father has already issued a strict gag order on the Crownsguard soldiers that accompanied us to Niflheim in regards to your true identity. Even if any of them are stupid enough to disobey that order, they will be rightfully and harshly punished. Not only that, but they will be expelled from the Crownsguard immediately.” Noct finished. His voice incredibly confident, and Prompto could easily tell that he really meant everything that he was saying; which did serve to ease his worries considerably. Noct had kept all of his promises so far, so why shouldn’t he believe that he’ll keep this one too?

“Okay.” Prompto nodded slowly, as he allowed Noct to continue pulling his one arm so that it was draped over the raven-haired prince’s shoulders, and the two could exit the Regalia and start the deceptively long walk towards the entrance to the Citadel.

It was slow goings, and Prompto could definitely still feel the bustling energy of the large crowd behind them as they all continued doing whatever they could to get a good view of the royal party. He would be lying if he didn’t say that it was still a little overwhelming, but the blonde was glad at least that Noct was beside him helping him continue forward. Even if they were walking slowly and awkwardly, he knew that once they finally got into the towering building before them, he would hopefully no longer be the center of attention.

Once the entire Lucian party had all gathered in the Citadel, everybody seemed to spilt up and head off in all different directions.

King Regis headed off in the direction of the throne room, hoping to meet with his shield Clarus Amicitia and the members of the Lucian council that had been governing the city in his absence.

The Crownsguard soldiers headed down to the briefing room, where they would recount any and all-important information that could be crucial in giving Lucis an advantage in the looming war.

Finally, Cor directed Noctis and Prompto in the direction of the Citadel infirmary, so that they could at last properly see to and take care of any and all of Prompto’s ailments from everything that happened back in Gralea.

It was fairly obvious to Cor and really anyone that had spent any significant time with the young blonde that he was severely malnourished and dehydrated from his time locked away below the castle. At the very least, Noct _had_ been able to help Prompto get some well needed nutrients into his body by way of a few bowls of soup that had been available during their long journey from Gralea to Lucis. Although, they would definitely need to start working on a schedule which allow Prompto’s stomach to adjust to the drastic change in food intake.

“We almost there, Noct? My left leg is getting pretty tired… we’re still heading to your room to sleep, right? Cause collapsing onto an actual bed pretty much sounds like heaven right now...” The blonde laughed, cutting through the silence as he and Noct continued their slow trudging down the long expansive hallways of the Citadel. Cor silently following next to them as he continued to ponder exactly how dire the blonde’s injuries truly were. If what Noct had said was correct, then this was not going to be as simple as fixing all of the obvious problems on the outside.

“Ah, yeah…. Prom. We’re uh-, we’re nearly there…” Noct replied as he forced himself to smile, trying to act as normal and unassuming as he could about where they were actually currently heading. He knew that Prompto wasn’t going to like it, and yet, he had been in such a good mood since they had arrived in Insomnia, Noct didn’t want to ruin it. “We just need to stop somewhere real quick before that.” He uttered slowly.

“Huh? What are you talking about?” Prompto asked as he raised his brow in confusion. “Where are we going?”

Noct really didn’t want to alarm his friend unnecessarily, but they were just about there at this point, so even if he didn’t tell him where they were going now, it wouldn’t be long till he figured things out for himself.

“Well…” he muttered, trying to figure out the best way to broach the subject, “You know... we uh, we still need to get you properly checked out… so, we’re just going to quickly meet up with one of the Citadel doctors so they can help treat you and get you better.”

The casual smile that had settled on Prompto’s face since they had entered the Citadel instantly dropped, and the blonde’s body went completely rigid; a look of shock frozen across his features as tried to keep himself calm.

“I-I’m fine… r-really Noct…” Prompto stated, trying to act confident, but being unable to stop his body from exuding a frantic and nervous energy. “I j-just need some sleep, and I’ll be r-right as rain, ya know? R-Really… don’t worry about it...”

“Yeah, because you’re doing so well walking on your own right now?” Noct replied quickly, and although he had intended the comment to come around as more of a joke, he could and feel see his friend flinch as though the blonde had been physically hit with his own words.

“Yeah, well… I-I-” Prompto started to argue, before he was cut off this time not by Noct, but by Cor.

“This isn’t up for debate, kid.” Cor replied sternly, feeling for the blonde, but not enough that he would jeopardize his health for it. “We need to get you properly checked out by a doctor and make sure that we can get you better and not worse.”

“I know you’re nervous, but don’t worry. The citadel doctors are nothing like those men that hurt you back in Niflheim, and I promise that I’ll be there with you the entire time, okay?” Noct added, while Prompto remained still and had now resorted to staring nervously at the floor.

“But-”

“Let’s go kid, I don’t have all day to waste. The sooner we get there, the sooner we can get it over with.” Cor grunted as he resumed walking down the hallway, glancing behind him for just long enough to make sure the two boys were following. Prompto was still obviously shaken and not totally amenable to everything that was going on, but there wasn’t much he could do to argue with the older Lucian. He could still very vividly remember how scary Cor could get when he got mad, and under no circumstances did Prompto ever want to experience that ever again.

It only took another five or ten minutes for the group composed of Cor, Noct and Prompto to finally reach the Citadel Infirmary. Prompto visibly tensed as they crossed the threshold, and had he not been leaning so much into Noct at this point, he probably would have hesitated more. Although, that was considerably more difficult when you couldn’t even properly support your own weight.

Prompto kept reminding himself that Noct had sworn to protect him, but no matter what he did, his brain kept flashing back to all those times that he had been dragged from his cell to the room where the Niflheim scientists did as they pleased with him.

As he was settled on the hard exam table, Prompto’s brain couldn’t help but mentally note all of the available exits, even though he knew that he wouldn’t be able to use them. The only thing that was currently keeping him grounded right now, was tightly gripping Noct’s hand in his own.

_Breathe… just breathe…. you can get through this._ Prompto thought nervously to himself. _These doctors aren’t like the ones back in Niflheim… Noct did say that, didn’t he? Their jobs are to take care of the royal family, and Noct promised that they would help, right?_

While Prompto was trying to keep himself from completely losing it, Cor had started discussing the current situation to the doctor that had come over. Meanwhile, Prompto had also come to the conclusion that if he didn’t look at him, then the doctor wouldn’t ask him any questions. In doing this, he picked a random spot in the large room and refused to look away; because, honestly, Prompto wasn’t sure he would be able to say or do anything without getting sick right now.

Luckily, Cor taken to informing the man about how they had found Prompto and detailed the minimal amount of medical treatment that they had been able to do both back in Niflheim and on the trip back to Lucis. The doctor nodded sympathetically as the Marshal recounted everything the best he could, jotting down frequent notes on his clipboard as he listened.

Once the two had concluded their conversation, they both turned their attention to the boy in question, who still very much had the prince’s right hand in a death grip with his other hand clenched at his side, trembling slightly.

“Good Afternoon… Mr. uh- Prompto, is it?” The doctor greeted his newest patient, the blonde still refusing to meet the man’s eyes and instead continuing to focus on the spot on the opposite wall that he had been staring at for the past few minutes. “My name is Dr. Gabriel Arcand, and I was hoping I could take a look at some of your injuries, that way we can figure out the best way to help you. Is that okay with you?” he asked gently.

Prompto didn’t react immediately, but after sending a quick glance in the Noct’s direction for confirmation, he silently nodded, his attention once again back on that same innocuous spot from before.

Noct was careful to keep a close watch on his friend as the doctor proceeded to look over all Prompto’s injuries and Noct was thankful that things, so far, had been fairly uneventful.

It had taken a bit of coaxing from Noct to get Prompto to take off all his clothes except for his underwear, and to put on the thin hospital gown; but when Noct suggested Cor and Dr. Arcand leave the room while he changed, he did so without much further argument.

It saddened Noct to watch how nervous and jumpy Prompto was during the entirety of Dr. Arcand’s examination. His body trembled, his grip tightened (if that was even possible) and his frown deepened just about every time the doctor touched him, as he cataloged all of Prompto’s bruises, burns and other various injuries.

Despite the circumstances, Noct was glad that things had been relatively uneventful thus far. That was until his hearing caught notice of a sharp audible intake of breath, a quiet whimper, and successive tightening of the grip on his hand, which had pretty much lost all feeling in at this point.

Noct really had to give it to Prom though, he would never have expected the other to have such a strong grip. If they stayed like this much longer, Noct wouldn’t be surprised if his fingers just fell right off due to lack of circulation. The reason for the blonde’s quiet outburst was made immediately apparent as Dr. Arcand audibly sighed.

“Damn… this isn’t going to be fun…” He muttered to himself quietly as he carefully continued checking over Prompto’s injured ankle; lightly feeling around the area in question to try and get an idea of how bad the damage was. Although, there was only so much he could do, just by looking at it.

“We’re definitely going to need to do some quick scans so that I can determine the extent of the damage here.” The Lucian doctor stated quite plainly. Once he finished, he left the room for a moment, before returning with a standard wheel-chair, no doubt for Prompto’s use, so that he wouldn’t have to keep hobbling around while awkwardly hanging off of Noctis’s shoulder.

“Some quick x-rays should suffice, but if necessary, we might also need to do a CT scan if it turns out the x-rays are insufficient.” He finished before motioning the blonde to get into the wheelchair that was currently pulled up next to the examination table he was sitting on.

Prompto’s eyes were almost glistening with tears at this point, and instantly his eyes shot up from the wheel-chair, up towards the doctor, and then finally over to Noctis who hadn’t moved a step since they sat down.

“It’s okay, Prom. Like he said, he’s just going to take a few x-rays, I promise. No big deal, right?” Noct noted as he had noticed Prompto’s increased look of fear crawl its way across his features.

“Y-Yeah…” The young blonde managed to stutter in a low and unsteady voice. “B-but… d-do I have t-to… y-you know…” His eyes were constantly shooting between the older Lucian doctor at his right side and Noct at his left and it was then that the raven-haired prince understood.

“I’m not going anywhere, buddy.” Noctis grinned placing his free hand supportively on Prompto’s opposite shoulder. Of course, the idea of being wheeled off to who knew where by a strange doctor wouldn’t go over well, but that’s why Noct was here. “We’ll get through this together and then we can go pass out in my room like I promised, okay?”

Prompto took a deep breath, nodding silently as he slowly pulled himself into the waiting wheelchair with a quiet, “Y-Yeah… sounds g-good.”

As soon as Prompto had situated himself comfortably, Noct walked around so that he was standing behind the blonde and started pushing the wheelchair so they could follow the doc back into the X-Ray Room. Thankfully, the x-rays were taken quickly. Although, the doctor did end up insisting they would also need a CT scan to help determine if there were any rotational issues.  After the CT scan though, the Doc finally seemed to be satisfied, and Prompto found himself once again on the stiff examination table he had been sitting on when they had first showed up.

Ever since then, Dr. Arcand and Cor had been in deep discussion for what had to be at least the last fifteen minutes or so, and the two younger males hadn’t quite come to a decision about whether that was a good or bad thing.

While Cor and Dr. Arcand continued their apparently very thrilling conversation, Noct attempted to distract Prompto’s attention by otherwise encouraging the blonde to play King’s Knight with him on his phone. A few more minutes passed by, but at least by that point, Prompto had started conversing quietly with him about the quests that they were currently tackling.

Although, as much as Prompto seemed to be engaged with the game, it was obvious that most of his attention was still otherwise occupied. The tests, questions and check-overs had undoubtedly been taking their toll. Noct had started noticing Prompto’s posture starting to sink forward ever since they had gotten back from his scans and Noct wouldn’t be surprised if the blonde’s eyes drooped closed and he passed out right here and now.

As he continued to watch Prompto fiddle with his phone, Noct couldn’t help but feel a large pang of guilt strike him deep in his chest. They had already been here a lot longer than he had originally hoped they would be, and he honestly had no idea if they would be leaving any time soon either. It was just supposed to be a quick check, and then he and Prompto would go and crash in his room after the long day of traveling… but apparently, the astrals must have had other plans in mind.

Although, as much as it sucked, Noct knew that this just wasn’t something they could push off any longer. Putting off care because it was unpleasant and/or unsettling, and instead letting Prompto’s health continue to go unchecked certainly wouldn’t be doing him any favors, and would undoubtedly cause catastrophic side-effects in the long run.

“Damn… I _really_ shouldn’t have drunk all that soda on the drive over from Galdin…” Noct groaned suddenly. “I was hoping we could get back to my room first, but we’ve been here a lot longer than I thought we would be. I swear, if I don’t get to a bathroom in the next few minutes, I’m pretty sure my bladder is going to explode… you gonna be okay?” Noct asked as Prompto let out a small chuckle at the prince’s random outburst.

“Yeah, I guess.” Prompto replied. “I doubt I’ll be going anywhere anytime soon anyway.”

“Go ahead and keep working on that gathering quest we just started, and if you finish it we can go ahead and collect the reward and head into the next dungeon.” Noct added before swiftly exiting the infirmary with a wave.

So, Prompto quickly busied himself with the aforementioned quest. He noticed since they had started playing together on the trip back from Gralea, Noct seemed to have a tendency to avoid a lot of the gathering quests, and the blonde suspected it was because they didn’t usually involve much combat. It probably didn’t help that a lot of the gathering quests could be considered as being less ‘eventful’ than some of the other more exciting quests available. Despite all that, Prompto was quite content with doing them himself, he liked being able to take his time and just randomly wander around exploring the different maps available; and if he picked up a few items for a quest along the way, well that was just an added bonus.

Prompto had only been able to get about halfway through the quest when both Cor and Dr. Arcand started making their way over towards him, still in deep conversation. _Of course,_ they would choose now of all times to finally come over, seeing as Noct had _just_ left. But maybe… if he just kept his head down and kept playing King’s Knight, he could try and buy some time for the raven to return.

Prompto couldn’t help but think it was silly and slightly embarrassing that he found himself so dependent on Noct right now. Although, being mercilessly experimented on in various and horrible ways without fail was not something that was easy to overcome by yourself, hence his current dependence on the young Lucian prince.

“I really wish I had better news…” Prompto heard the doctor groan, as he and Cor were now standing practically right next to him. “The scans all seem to confirm my initial suspicions. The boy’s ankle was indeed broken; and even more unfortunately, the affected bones are already well on their way to being healed. This ultimately complicates our situation when we consider the fact that the break in question was obviously not splinted correctly, if at all. Therefore, the bones have already started to mend while misaligned.” The doctor finished with a grim look on his face, and Prompto continued in his vain attempt to try to hide as much of his face as he possibly could behind Noct’s phone.

“Damn.” Cor grunted in response, “Well, I can’t imagine that is going to be fun to fix…” He continued to grumble, before he looked over towards the blonde and noticed the distinct absence of a certain raven-haired prince. “Where did Noctis run off to now?”

“H-He’s in the b-bathroom... s-sir..!” Prompto squeaked, unable to stop stumbling over his words under the careful glare of the Marshal. The blonde was pretty sure it was safe to say that it would be awhile until he was even somewhat comfortable talking to the stoic and veteran Lucian officer in front of him.

“Well, we do have some important things that we need to discuss in a timely manner, so I guess we’ll just have to fill the kid in on anything that he misses once he gets back.” Cor replied, before turning his attention once again to the doctor, gesturing him to continue.

“Yes,” Dr. Arcand coughed, as he continued to look over the clipboard in his hands, which no doubt held the results of all the tests and scans he had already run. “There are quite a few things that are of significant concern to me right now. This includes all of the clear external injuries, as well as the fact that his body is showing signs of long-term malnutrition and dehydration, which isn’t terribly hard to combat, but I can take a little bit of time.” The doctor paused, before finishing, “Putting all that aside however, the worst and most pressing matter right now is the boy’s ankle. The damage is alarming to say the least. Unfortunately, the bottom line is that if we want to have any chance to save it, we are going to need to operate on it as soon as we can get a team together. This way we can attempt to remedy the situation before things have a chance to get any further out of hand.”

Cor nodded grimly. “In the interest of time, I’ll go ahead and make sure to get in contact with the other citadel doctors, and tell them that they need to get down here as quickly as possible. In the meanwhile, you can use that time to start preparing things for the operation, that way the surgery can commence once everybody arrives.”

_Wait- operation… and s-surgery…? Surely, he must have heard wrong_. Prompto felt his blood instantly run cold and his heart drop out of his chest. _But Noct… he had… he had promised… he promised t-they wouldn’t... it was just supposed to be a quick check…_

Right as Prompto was consumed by the very thought, another darker and much more terrifying possibility seemed to dredge itself up from the very depths of his subconscious. _Wait…_ _the Niff scientists… hadn’t they also always said that they were just bringing him up to that horrible room for a “simple check-up”? They had. Then, just as quickly, they would start laughing at the lie as they proceeded to start pulling out all of the special tools they used to pick him apart in every horrible way they could think of._

“N-no…” Prompto breathed out in disbelief as a whirlwind of terrifying memories began drowning his mind in alarming and horrifying detail of everything those bastard scientists had done to him. He could see the scientists leaning over him laughing, his nose suddenly overwhelmed with the powerful smell of disinfectant that they used to clean their collection of varied lab equipment that surrounded the table he had been tightly strapped to. It was too much… too overwhelming… _too real_.

“What was that?” Cor inquired, practically spinning around on the spot. He had been just about ready to dart out of the infirmary in search of the other doctors, before hearing the blonde youth next to him mutter something.

“N-no s-surgeries… p-please…” Prompto muttered, unable to bring himself to say anything louder than low whimper. “I c-can’t… n-n-not again… please… I d-didn’t think-”

“Don’t be stupid, kid.” Cor replied bluntly. “If you ever want to walk on your own again, the only way that we can possibly hope to fix that ankle of yours at this point, is to operate. Dr. Arcand here is the best surgeon in Insomnia… and so is the rest of his team. He’ll put you out for the entire operation anyway, that way you won’t feel a thing.”

It was at that moment, that sentence, which broke the blonde-haired youth.

_You. Won’t. Feel. A. Thing._

Those five words were suddenly resounding and echoing everywhere in Prompto’s head in a horrifying and deafening roar. _Yes… that’s right, I remember now._ He thought to himself. That had been the Niff doctors’ absolute _favorite_ thing to say to him before every “session” they brought him in for. But of course, like everything else that came out of those bastards’ mouths, it was a complete and utter lie.

He felt _everything_. He felt every time their dull blades had cut ruthlessly away at his skin, he felt every time they burned and branded him with their different toys, and the more he screamed, the more it seemed to spur them on, laughing louder with every agonized scream that was torn from his abused throat.

Prompto could feel his chest and extremities start to go completely numb and it was as if all the air had been sucked forcefully out of his lungs. He tried to breath in large, gasping breaths, but it was all in vain. He was completely and absolutely convinced that he would suffocate here and now.

“Don’t worry, son. It’s going to be over before you know it.” A voice came from somewhere, although Prompto didn’t currently possess the lucidity to recognize who the voice belonged to.

_Lies! They were all lies, just like in Niflheim…!_

Prompto should have known that things wouldn’t be any different here. No matter how many times Noct had promised him, _nothing_ had changed. How could he have been so stupid to think that they would??

Prompto was definitely hyperventilating now, fresh tears starting to flow down his pale cheeks as he tried to unsuccessfully prepare himself for the immense and endless pain that he knew would be coming soon, because that was all that ever came.

“I need you to take a few slow, deep breaths and try to calm down, okay?” There was that same voice again, but Prompto couldn’t focus well enough on what the voice was saying to be much of any good.

“Prompto… you need to calm down. I promise, we are trying to help, not hurt you.” The doctor uttered slowly and carefully as he futilely attempted to calm his young patient down from this sudden panic attack before he hurt himself. He extended his hand forward in an attempt to further comfort the trembling young man before him; however, it was immediately noted that this was probably one of the worst possible things he could have done.

The very instant that he made any kind of contact with the blonde, Prompto yelped loudly. His body jerked back so violently, and with such force, that his previous uneasy balance was quickly tipped. Before anyone could steady him, his lithe form crashed down onto the hard floor behind the exam table with a loud thud. A low, strangled cry emitted from the tangle of limbs as Prompto proceeded to plaster himself firmly into the nearby corner trying to feebly shield the rest of his body with his arms, while also mumbling something incoherently. The phone that he had been clutching so desperately mere moments ago, was now lying discarded and forgotten a few feet away.

Before Cor or Dr. Arcand could do anything to further approach the clearly traumatized blonde, they were interrupted by a very confused and _very_ pissed off Prince of Lucis, who aptly came storming into the room in a fit of rage at that very moment.

“What the hell is going on here?!?” He demanded as he marched up to Cor ready to slug the Marshal right in the face. Right now, he didn’t give a shit about his legacy, his unparalleled strength, or how he might react to said action. This was the second time that Noctis had rushed back into a room with Cor and Prompto and the latter was in complete hysterics.

“I was gone for all of five fucking minutes to go to the bathroom. I just so happened to run into Iggy and ended up talking to him about something for like two seconds, before what do I hear, but Prompto screaming bloody murder like he’s being tortured! So, I will ask one more time...”

_What. The. Fuck. Did. You. Do!?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!
> 
> Comments are always appreciated. :)
> 
> Free to check out my tumblr! [ever-at-your-side-15](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/ever-at-your-side-15)


	10. Complications

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Unsurprisingly, this took quite a bit longer to get up than I had anticipated, but I was finally able to get the chapter to a point where I felt comfortable posting it, so yay for actually getting around to posting things! There is a nice helping of both some good angst and fluff in this chapter so I hope you guys enjoy! ;D
> 
> I wanted to give quick thanks to everyone who continues to read this story and stay with me on his crazy journey! I super appreciate all kudos, comments, bookmarks, and everything of the like. It really inspires me to keep writing when I see that people are enjoying it! Thanks! <3

Noctis couldn’t think of a single moment in his life that he had ever been this six-dammed pissed off before, and he didn’t even know what had happened to elicit such a sharp change in behavior with his closest friend. Not only that, but he was getting real damn tired with things always happening while he wasn’t present to do anything about them.

_Great job Noctis… you’re doing a mighty fine job of keeping Prompto safe here in the Crown City…_ he thought to himself sullenly. _Not even been here an entire day and he’s already having a fit._

“I was merely discussing how we were going to proceed with treatment for the young man-” Dr. Arcand spoke up as he pulled the young prince from his thoughts, attempting to explain things before being cut off sharply by Cor.

“We told him that he needs surgery to fix his ankle and he lost it all on his own.” The Marshal stated quite bluntly. “We didn’t lay a finger on the kid, so you better take a deep breath and try to control that temper of yours, Your Majesty.” There was a short pause, in which Noctis attempted to glare even more intently at the Marshal, but whether or not the older Lucian noticed, he made no effort to avoid it.

“You may be the Crown Prince,” The marshal finally continued, “But that doesn’t give you the right to start making hot-headed assumptions and accusations without gathering the necessary information. If you ever want to be able to succeed your father as King of Lucis, you’re going to need to be able to keep a level head in stressful situations like this.” He finished quite plainly.

“Are you _seriously_ trying to lecture me right now, Cor?” Noctis shot back, even more livid than he had been, at the mere fact that Cor was trying to tell _him_ off, “You’re acting like this is all my fault, and yet you’re the one who was right here when all this started!” The prince let out a quick and frustrated breath.

“You know what, just forget it. Get out of my way.” Noctis uttered angrily as he forcefully pushed past Cor and the Doctor so that he could focus on trying to help Prompto calm down, because that was what was most important right now, not meaninglessly squabbling with Cor.

“Prom…?” Noct said quietly as he slowly approached the trembling blonde, who was now sitting with his legs pulled up close to his chest, albeit a little awkwardly with his injured ankle. Meanwhile, his arms were wrapped tightly around his legs, his head almost hiding between the tangle of limbs. “Hey buddy… it’s me, Noct.”

“…n-noct…?” The blonde whispered as he slowly lifted his head.

“Yeah-” Noct had started to reply when he was suddenly struck silent. Not only because the moment that Noct went to place a hand on his back to reassure him, the blonde jerked backwards, but also because of what Prompto said next.

“You lied to me…” the blonde whispered and Noct couldn’t quite believe that he had heard correctly, so he just sat there in stunned silence for a few seconds longer.

“You lied to me!” Prompto repeated once more, this time much louder. There was no mistaking what the blonde had said this time.

“Y-You said… YOU PROMISED THINGS WOULD BE DIFFERENT HERE, BUT THEY’RE NOT!” Now the blonde was back to full on gut punching and heart-rending sobs and Noct could do nothing but stare, completely useless and shocked by the tone of hurt and betrayal that tore and tugged at his very soul.

“Prom… I-I…” Noct tried to reason, tried to think of something… anything to say that might help, but his mind was completely blanking on him right now. He hoped that this sudden outburst was brought on by Prompto being scared, and his mind being completely exhausted and delirious, and he didn’t actually mean what he was saying. It was just his fear talking, right? Or maybe… a darker thought stuck out in his mind… that’s just what he wanted to think so he wouldn’t feel so completely and one-hundred percent responsible for everything that had happened since he had shown up to find Prompto missing from his cell back in Gralea.

“Was… was this all some j-joke to you…?” Prompto moaned, as he tried unsuccessfully to choke back the tears that continued to cascade down his pale and skinny features. “J-Just to t-trick me into… into thinking that I m-might be able to g-get away.. b-before you l-locked me up… up again…? I-If that’s the c-case… I-I’d rather you j-just kill… just kill me… please…” Prompto’s words quickly devolved into nothing more than incoherent mumbling, and Noct was just so shocked by what he had just heard that he could only stare at the scene unfolding before him, the one that he was completely powerless to put a stop to.

It was these thoughts that brought him back to his original question from when he burst into the room moments ago. What specifically had happened in the ten minutes that he had been gone, to set Prompto off like this? It was true that he hadn’t been in spectacularly high spirits when Noctis had left, but at least he had been somewhat calm and coherent.

Noctis had been so lost in thought that he didn’t even notice Cor and Dr. Arcand approaching quietly from behind him. Without any kind of warning and before Noctis could even do anything to react or to try and intervene, Cor suddenly reached out and grabbed Prompto forcefully by his shoulders. As expected, the blonde started struggling frantically against Cor with everything he had, blindly swinging his arms and legs every which way, and doing anything his frenzied mind could think of to break out of the larger man’s grasp.

“Cor…??? What the hell…!” Noctis shot up, shocked as to why the Marshal had suddenly decided to confront Prompto in such a callous and forceful manner. Weren’t things going bad enough already…? After a few continued moments of fruitless struggling, Prompto finally seemed to give in and Cor was able to keep the skinny and exhausted body beneath him under control without much effort.

Once Prompto had somewhat stilled, it was apparently Dr. Arcand’s turn to approach, a small syringe now held carefully between his fingers. Noctis watched as the blonde’s eyes suddenly caught sight of the needle, his eyes widened in fear, and he once more resumed his futile struggle to free himself from Cor’s immoveable grasp with a renewed surge of energy, accompanied by a truly desperate look that Noctis surely wouldn’t be able to forget anytime soon.

After a few more agonizing and desperate cries from the blonde, Cor was able to hold him still just long enough for the doctor to jab the needle firmly into the blonde’s exposed flesh. It was a few seconds more when his body finally stopped resisting as he practically melted back into the Marshal’s steady hold. Once the Marshal was sure the boy in his arms was completely out, Cor proceeded to gently hoist him back up so that he was laying on the stiff examination table.

“Seriously, Cor?!? Was that really necessary?” Noctis asked, annoyance written all over his face as he waited for yet another explanation from the two older Lucians. “He was starting to calm down, you didn’t have to go as far as to knock him out like that! And with a fucking syringe of all things… you know how nervous just being in this damned place made him? God knows what he thought you were going to do restraining him and drugging him… six-dammit, this is such a mess.” The prince groaned as he couldn’t help but run his hands through his disheveled hair, frustration clear on his face as his focus flickered over towards a now completely still and unresponsive Prompto.

“He may have seemed like he was calming down, but it was pretty obvious that we were getting nowhere fast, and we simply don’t have the time to waste right now. Cor, if you would?” Dr. Arcand inquired before Cor nodded silently, heading toward the exit, before pausing a moment right at the threshold of the infirmary, pointedly looking back towards the still very annoyed looking Crown Prince.

“I’ll be back soon. Please make sure that you don’t strangle the good doctor while I’m gone, okay, kid? I know you’re not happy with us right now, but Dr. Arcand is Prompto’s best chance at a full recovery.” He finished.

“Yeah, Yeah. Haha. So funny, Cor... though I think you’re more at risk than anyone else right now, if we’re being completely honest.” Noctis muttered as he stood up and stepped over to where the Marshal had laid Prompto down on the exam table, seating himself beside it and taking the other boy’s hand securely in his own.

“Well, what are you waiting for?” Noctis asked as he turned his attention towards the Doctor, still frozen in the middle of the room. “I hope you don’t expect me to leave after everything that just happened… and before you say it, I don’t care that he’s out cold. After whatever the hell that all just was, you’re crazy if you think that I’m leaving him alone with you again.”

“Yes of course, Your Highness.” Dr. Arcand replied, still slightly dazed himself after certain recent events, before he shook his head and promptly left the room so that he could start prepping things for the impending operation.

It wasn’t but probably twenty minutes later that Cor returned to the infirmary relaying to the doctor that he had contacted everyone and they should be down to start within another twenty minutes or so.

Unsurprisingly, Noctis had absolutely refused to move from Prompto’s side, now thoroughly unconvinced that he could leave his closest friend in the care of anyone other than himself, even despite the fact that he was unconscious and would remain so until after the operation had finished.

If he had it his way, he would have probably even gone into the OR with him, but there were still places that even the Crown Prince of Lucis was not permitted, and in the middle of the OR during a very important surgery, and with absolutely no training whatsoever, was apparently one of those places. So instead, he was left to compromise by parking himself in a conveniently placed chair practically right outside the doors of said operating room.

When the surgery was finally finished, and the doctors started wheeling the young blonde back to the recovery rooms, Noctis jumped up and immediately started following them.

“I want Prompto brought up to my room.” Noctis quickly stated, and with the annoyance still clear in his voice, it was clear that this was meant as an order and not a suggestion.

“I sincerely apologize, but I cannot allow that, Your Highness.” The doctor shook his head as he continued to look over a few papers that he had clipped to the clipboard in his hands. “We need to keep the kid down here for at least 24 hours for observation, so that we can make sure there are no complications, or ill side-effects of the surgery.”

“That’s bullshit and you know it.” The prince quickly shot back. “Whenever I have ever gotten hurt or sick before, my room is practically a revolving door of doctors that are constantly rotating in and out to check on me. I’m lucky if I get any real time to myself.” He continued to argue. “There’s absolutely no reason that you shouldn’t be able to keep an eye on him while he’s in my room. Oh, and I think you may have noticed that he isn’t entirely fond of medical staff or anything of the sort… so if you really want to make sure he’s comfortable and able to recover, then you need to let him rest in my room.”

“I don’t know, Your Highness…” Dr. Arcand muttered to himself. “This is a highly unusual request-”

“It’s fine, Gabriel…” Cor’s voice cut in as he now joined the other two Lucians, ready to discuss specific details regarding Prompto’s recovery with the Doctor himself. “You may as well agree, because you must know by now how stubborn our young Prince can be, and I can assure you that he will continue to argue his point with you until you concede.” The Marshal finished, curling his lips in a crooked grin with Noctis sending a moderately annoyed glance over towards the veteran Lucian, happy that Cor had backed him up, and yet annoyed at the Marshal’s jab about his stubborn tendencies.

“Thanks Cor. I think…” Noctis grunted. “Well, now that that’s settled… I don’t want Prompto waking up down here, so let’s get a move on, yeah?”

Dr. Arcand couldn’t help but shake his head at the futility of the situation, but it was clear that he had been overruled. After taking a deep breath, he began directing the remaining medical staff to prep the patient for transfer up to the Crown Prince’s personal quarters.

* * *

 

Prompto’s mind and thoughts were an absolute mess. Nothing but soup that had been spilled over, seeping into the carpet just enough so that you would never be able to get it all back, no matter how hard you tried to soak it up.

What was going on…? Where was he… how did he get here? In that case… where even was here? He had no idea. The only thing he knew for sure was that his head was throbbing, and the entire rest of his body was stiff and sore as though he had been run over by a herd of chocobos or something. He did however notice the accompaniment of a steady stream of cool air brushing over his exposed skin, but his limbs felt so heavy it was near impossible to move even a single finger.

Prompto slowly forced his eyes open, but felt his heart rate speed up significantly when he realized that it didn’t matter whether his eyes were opened or closed. His immediate surroundings seemed to be veiled in this thick, almost suffocating and unknowable darkness.

He couldn’t feel any kind of material covering his eyes or circling his head… but, if there was no physical material blocking his vision, what else could explain this overbearing darkness? Was the room he was in really that dark or…?

At that thought, a much more terrifying prospect crossed his mind, and as soon as he thought of it, he really wished he hadn’t. Had he… had they figured out a way to take away his vision? Had they done something to his eyes, so that they would refuse to work properly?

Every new thought nearly took his breath away, and had his mind and body not felt so heavy and muddled, he would have surely jumped a few feet in the air when the fragile silence that had settled in around him was shattered as he heard a chillingly familiar voice.

“Ah, our guest of honor has returned to us, has he?”

Prompto tried to protest, by moving or saying something to deny the voice’s claim, but no matter what he tried he just couldn’t seem to get any kind of sound to actually leave his mouth.

First his eyes, now his mouth…? Why was it that his body was completely ignoring any and all communication from his brain??

“It was quite _endearing_ that you actually thought you would be able to get away from us…” the man continued, the sheer amusement in his voice clear as day, “But you must know by now that we will always get you in the end.” His voice finished in a low and calculated whisper, causing the blonde to shiver.

Prompto’s entire field of vision was suddenly engulfed in a bright and blinding light. It was such a sudden and unexpected change, that it took several minutes of what had to be continuous blinking through the immediate blindness before his eyes were able to start to properly adjust again.

Once the dark spots that had been consuming his vision finally started to slowly fade away, it wasn’t hard to figure out as to why he was having so much trouble moving any and all of his limbs. From what he could make out, both his arms and legs were securely fastened against the surface upon which he was laying with large, metal shackles.

It was hard to get a good angle on anything, seeing as though there also seemed to be some sort of collar restricting how much he was able to move his neck. Although in the end, he didn’t need to look around to recognize where he was. He would never be able to forget this place. The place that had become his own personal hell back in Gralea.

“It’s been so long since we’ve been able to see each other, we’ve got so much research to catch up on.” The voice breathed once again, slowly drinking in the fear and panic that was radiating outwards from the blonde.

_No! Not again!_ He thought frantically. _Why… how was he back in Gralea?? Noct had rescued him, hadn’t he?_

Prompto didn’t know what to think. It had felt so real… but then again, so did right here and now. He could feel the cold metal digging into his skin, the rush of cool air over his exposed skin, the overwhelming sterile stench that stung his nose and mouth from all the disinfected medical equipment.

Who was to say that he ever actually left Gralea in the first place? Could it be that his escape to Insomnia was just some trick that his mind had cooked up to help deal with the horrors of what was really going on? Had he truly been so desperate to see Noct once more that his mind had decided to grant him that wish in the only way it knew how….? Maybe… maybe Noct himself was an illusion from the very beginning; and his only purpose was to guide Prompto’s fractured mind along as he grew closer and closer to his inevitable, horrible demise. But… t-that meant… that everything…? Could it really be-?

“Oh, and I’ve brought some friends along today as well, so I’m sure you can imagine all the fun we are going to be able to have together.” The voice cut in once again, and without warning, Prompto could feel countless sets of eyes gazing down on him laughing, their eyes glinting with some cruel, sadistic pleasure.

Prompto wanted to fight. He wanted to run... he wanted to _do_ _something_... but the unfortunate truth was that he couldn’t. He was powerless to do anything but struggle against his restraints in vain, until the moment that these bastards would finally tire of the game they had been playing with such excitement and toss him aside.

He almost felt as though his body was frozen in time. Listening on and on to the doctors calmly debating what to do with him a mere foot or two above his head. He didn’t want to listen to that. He didn’t want to listen to all the different ways that they could think of to bring an end to him… he just wished they would get it over already, and make it fast.

It was right at the moment that he had been ready to submit to the ever-clawing darkness, when something… one of the many voices surrounding him, managed to catch his attention. If he hadn’t known any better, he could have sworn that he had just heard his name… not his unit number, 05953234… freak… monster… brat… or any of the other godforsaken names that the doctors gave him over the years. But he could have sworn that he heard his name… his real name, amongst the chorus of voices above him. That couldn’t be possible though; because the doctors never… not once… not one single time, had they ever referred to him as such. He doubted they were even aware of the existence of such of thing.

“Prompto-”

There it was again, and much clearer this time. The tone this new voice had… it almost sounded… comforting…? That couldn’t possibly be right though, not here in Niflheim. No-one cared about him near enough to speak with such concern. Although despite that, and despite everything else, Prompto wanted to follow it. He wanted to know where it was coming from. He couldn’t help but think that it sounded familiar… like what he remembered of a certain raven-haired prince from a far-off kingdom.

It was right then that Prompto noticed a wetness on his cheeks, and he was pretty sure it couldn’t be blood because there was no tearing or searing pain to accompany it as it always would. As far as he could tell, the doctors hadn’t yet started with whatever they were planning on doing, so it wouldn’t make sense for it to be blood.

But oh- wait… tears…? Then that must mean… was he… crying? Although, as it turned out, being aware of what was happening did absolutely nothing to stop the moisture from cascading down his pale cheeks. He realized right then and there that didn’t care if Noctis was a hallucination or not, he just wanted to get away from this place. If the only way to escape was through some broken illusion, he would do it. Although that in itself created quite the dilemma as to how, and it seemed as though that desire was just another thing that was doomed to always remain just outside his reach.

“It’s okay, Prom… I’m not going anywhere.” The voice that could only belong to Noctis continued as though he was right there reading the blonde’s thoughts, written clear as day on his face.

His voice was calm and cool as it always was; and yet, at the same time it was something so much more than that. The more Prompto focused on the voice, the more he felt his body lighten.

Slowly and steadily, the doctors that surrounded him started to fade away like they were nothing more than a bad dream and the room that had terrified every cell in his body seemed to be dissolving away until there was nothing left. The restraints that had been cutting painfully into his skin a few moments ago, were nothing more than slowly dissipating smoke. It wasn’t long before Prompto felt his own consciousness melting away into the light, its radiance caressing his skin with a soft warm glow as he was carried off to who knew where.

* * *

Prompto’s eyes suddenly snapped open as he was quickly shocked back into consciousness. When his sight finally came back into focus, he found himself somewhere that was completely unfamiliar and foreign to him. He was no longer on the stone-cold examination table, strapped down with biting restraints, but in fact, he was… comfortable?? Not only was he comfortable he realized, but was it actually possible to make something this soft and fluffy? It must be though, he reasoned, since he was pretty sure that he would never be able to dream something like this up in his wildest imagination. The material seemed to hug every curve in his body and yet have just enough tension so that he wasn’t drowning in the material.

As Prompto’s attention widened, he began to realize how large of a room he was actually in, and boy was it massive. It was exponentially larger than any kind of room he had back in his little cell in Gralea. He also couldn’t help but notice that the entire room was designed with the most ornate looking furniture and decorations he had ever seen. The only comparable thing he had seen that had even come close to any of this was when he had caught small glances here and there into some of the larger rooms that he had passed while the Niff doctors were dragging him off to who knew where.

“Prompto…?”

That voice…! The voice that had fought off the darkness and saved him from his endless nightmare… the voice that could only belong to one person…

Prompto turned his head as quickly as he could manage in the direction of the voice that he had been so desperately trying to find. Noct could have been glowing for all Prompto knew, even with his raven hair drooping slightly and matting together in small tuffs and at odd angles as though he had been sleeping on it weird and he hadn’t cared to put in the effort necessary to fix it. The sight of the raven-haired boy nearly had Prompto in tears.

“N-noct…?” the blonde breathed out slowly as though if he weren’t careful enough, he would fade away like all the Niflheim doctors before him. The wetness was back with a vengeance now, prickling at the corner of his eyes, although Prompto reasoned the tears had probably never left, so he guessed it was really was more like business as usual at this point.

“I’m so sorry…!” Noctis exclaimed, and Prompto was taken aback. Not because of the sudden outburst from the young prince, but because he was pretty sure that this was supposed to be the other way around… he wasn’t entirely sure why, but there was some small voice in the very back of his brain telling him he should probably be the one apologizing here.

If only his memory wasn’t so hazy, his thoughts all muddled together before completely going blank. He definitely remembered Noct leaving to go to the bathroom, and also distinctly remembered cautiously conversing with Cor and Dr. Arcand… but after that? Nothing.

He could only assume things didn’t go well, and he was pretty sure it would be a safe bet to say that it was more than likely his fault. He vaguely remembered feeling really scared and mad… and oh six- he could have sworn that he had been yelling at someone… fuck.

“Noct, you don’t-” Prompto tried to say loud enough so that the prince would hear him and stop blaming himself. Despite his meager protests though, the raven-haired boy seemed to pay no mind, and was clearly dead set on finishing his obviously unecessary apology.

“This is all my fault. I promised that things would be different here…” Noctis sighed, his expression downcast. “I promised I would stay with you… but I left _again_ , and everything got out of hand, and I’m… well, I’m sorry I wasn’t there. I swear to you though, I am going to do better.” The prince insisted.

“I know that you’re probably sick and tired of me promising stuff that I don’t follow through on, but I do know that we’re going to make it through this. Hopefully, in time, you’ll see that things _are_ different here in Insomnia…” At that, the prince finally went silent and his posture slumped forward, unable to bring himself to make eye contact with the blonde.

“I’m pretty sure…” he paused before continuing, “That I’m the one who is supposed to be apologizing here…” Prompto finished quietly.

“What?” Noct asked, confusion written clear as day across his face, “What could you possibly have to apologize for?”

“I don’t really remember what happened…” he started slowly, “But I do, remember… yelling… at you.” Prompto muttered, hesitating as he finished. He really didn’t have much of any idea of what exactly he had said, but seeing Noct flinch slightly at the mention of it, he reasoned it must have been pretty bad.

“You were scared…” Noct replied as casually as he could, shrugging. “You didn’t know what you were saying. So, don’t beat yourself up about it, okay?” Noct came back, and he really hoped that what he was saying was the truth. He wasn’t sure if he was more relieved or anxious that Prompto couldn’t really confirm or deny it. Although honestly, that was probably for the best.

“I won’t, if you won’t.” Prompto replied, a hint of a soft smile finally making its way across his face.

“Yeah, okay.” Noct nodded, a small smile once again stretching across his own features. “Deal.”

“So… uh, where exactly are we?” Prompto spoke up after the two boys fell into a short silence. “I can’t help but notice that it uh, it doesn’t really look like we’re in the Infirmary anymore…”

“Oh yeah,” Noct replied, taking a moment to rub his hand against the back of his head nervously, “About that… I had umm… I had a feeling you wouldn’t fancy waking up down there, so I just had the Doc, you know… move you up to my room, if that’s cool…? I mean, if you don’t want to stay up here, I’m sure we could find somewhere else for you to go-” Noct started rambling, and probably would have kept going had the blonde not chosen to interject.

“N-No… it’s cool… um, thanks.” Prompto muttered, his hands now busy fidgeting with the blankets covering him up to the waist in what was apparently Noct’s own bed. He had certainly had his fill of medical rooms and was very thankful that Noct had gone to the trouble of going the extra mile of offering up his own room. Especially since it would have been a lot less trouble just leaving him down by himself in the infirmary. It was a small thing, but it really meant the world to him.

“The Citadel doctors are still going to have to come check on how you’re doing on a pretty frustratingly consistent basis, but I swear to almighty Bahamut, that I’ll be here for you, and for real this time. I’ll even make sure that any bathroom breaks are either before or after they leave.” Noct assured the blonde with a quick wink. He had already screwed up twice now, and he damn sure wasn’t about to go for a third.

Prompto’s attention quickly shifted from Noct, to his now obviously splinted foot which was suspended in a sling above the bed. He noted to himself that he probably should have noticed this a little earlier, but there was so much else going through his addled mind, that it apparently hadn’t seemed to be that much of a priority for his brain until now.

If Prompto was being completely honest, he would be lying if he said he wasn’t still feeling kind of funny. It was almost as though despite the fact that his brain had woken up, his body hadn’t had a chance to join it yet. Not only that, but now that the shock of waking up was dying down, he was starting to realize how drowsy and tired he still felt.

If he had any say in the matter, he would stay awake and keep talking with Noct. Well that, coupled with the fact that he was still a little wary of closing his eyes in the chance that he might dream about _that place_ again. Ultimately though, he wasn’t really all that sure how long he was going to be able to keep his eyes open.

“I’m guessing… that they went ahead and did the surgery?” The blonde muttered, thankful and a bit surprised that the whole thing was already over and done with. The Niff scientists had never been so kind as to knock him out, or even sedate him for that matter, for any procedure they had ever done. Prompto had had the inane pleasure of witnessing everything they had done with all his faculties one-hundred percent intact.

He still wasn’t super keen on having any medical personnel near him right now, but if this was how they did things here in Insomnia… maybe it wasn’t the end of the world that he had originally expected it to be.

“Yeah… they wanted to make sure to get it taken care of before you woke up to avoid any further… complications.” Noct finally came back, taking care to choose his last words carefully.

“So basically, they wanted to do it before I had the chance to freak out again?” Prompto asked and Noct simply shrugged his shoulders.

“The good news though is that the Doctor said you should be able to regain full function of your ankle as long as you don’t put any weight on it and get lots of rest. They’ll probably eventually have you start doing some physical therapy to help build it up, but you don’t have to worry about that one until they’ve determined that your strong enough to start putting weight on it again.” The prince finished as he decided to try and shift the conversation in a bit of a different direction.

“Great… really looking forward to that...” Prompto replied, yawning as yet another wave of drowsiness washed over him, the temptation to close his eyes getting stronger still as the minutes crept by. “Man… just woke up… and I’m already feeling super… sleepy… again...” he finished as he sighed again, his eyes steadily drooping further and further down, until they were almost completely closed.

“Yeah, that’s probably because of all the medication and painkillers they have you on right now. The Doc said that you would probably be pretty out of it once you woke up.”

“Would explain… why I feel… so weird…” Prompto muttered. “Still feel like I got… run… run over by a herd of chocobos… but kinda… I dunno… fuzzy…?” The blonde was now starting to slur his words slightly and Noct could tell that he was really pushing himself to stay awake.

“Don’t push yourself too hard,” Noct replied. “Just get some more rest and I promise I’ll be here when you wake up.”

“You better be… or I’m gonna… I’m gonna…” Prompto paused for a moment before finishing with, “I dunno… what am I gonna do, Noct?”

“I’m not sure Prom. Why don’t you think on that while you’re sleeping? Better make sure it’s something good.” Noct replied grinning, unable to stop from laughing at that last comment.

The raven-haired prince had been just about to pull out his phone to entertain himself while Prompto was sleeping, when he suddenly jumped, turning his attention to a small, neatly wrapped present sitting on the dresser right next to his bed.

“Oh yeah! Prom, before you fall asleep… I wanted to uh, give you something.” Noct spoke as he grabbed the small package and waited for said blonde to slowly open his eyes before placing it gently between his folded hands.

“What’s this…?” Said blonde asked, his mind attempting to slowly process what the purpose of this small box could be, while it was currently very committed to the process of drifting off to dreamland.

“I know that you’re really tired, and it would probably make more sense to give this to you when you’re more awake, but I just want you to have it… as an apology and a kind of ‘welcome to Insomnia’ sort of thing. I talked to Iggy about it when we got back and he went out and picked it up for me. I thought it might cheer you up, and make you feel a little bit more at home here.” Noctis had never been all that great at the whole being sentimental thing, but with Prompto… he felt like things came a bit more naturally. He wasn’t sure how much Prompto would get from this, seeing as he was already practically half asleep, but Noctis just couldn’t wait until he woke up again… cause honestly, who knew how long that would be?

While Noctis looked on in anticipation, Prompto remained completely still; his eyes enraptured with the small package set in front of him. He wasn’t sure if it was the drugs he was on, or something else entirely, but he just kind of sat there staring at the package as though the sheer act of continuing to stare was the best of course of action right now.

“Well, it’s not doing much good just sitting there, why don’t you go ahead and open it?” Noctis suggested, both excited and a bit nervous at the same time to see the other males reaction.

“Oh… right.” Prompto replied quietly, shaking his head softly to knock himself out of the almost trance-like state he had been in while staring at the small package. His fingers fumbled weakly around the edges of the wrapping paper, struggling for a few seconds in an attempt to carefully start separating the different layers of paper. Noct quickly noticed this and didn’t want the blonde to become too frustrated, so he pulled the paper apart just enough to break the tape sealing the right side of the box before Prompto was able to unfold the rest, and a sleek, dark box was finally revealed.

Even with the prospect of sleep clawing at his every being right now, Prompto was pretty easily able to recognize what was in the newly unwrapped box, as he had gotten quite a bit of practice with it on their way back from Niflheim. Fingers grasping at the packaging once again, Prompto was able to slide the box open and inside the packaging was none other than a brand-new cellphone. It seemed to be just about the same size and shape, and looked to be the same kind of model as the one Noct had; but there was something covering the phone that also immediately caught the blonde’s attention. Where Noct had a case to cover his phone, which was almost completely black all the way around, this phone… _his phone_ came with a case which sported a very fluffy and very cute picture of a small, smiling cartoon chocobo.

“Noct… I… I don’t- I don’t know what to say…” Prompto mumbled as he could only stare in awe at the phone that was now cradled in his lap. Six-damned these tears that refused to stop falling…! “T-This is… I c-can’t believe it…”

“I made sure to pre-load King’s Knight on it, so you can start your own game whenever you want.” Noctis grinned, a wave of relief washing over him as he noticed the way Prompto’s eyes lit up as he slowly turned the device over in his hand, trying to take in the enormity of the gift he had just been given.

Noctis had been so guilt-ridden over everything that had happened since they had arrived in the Crown City that he was glad that he had been able to elicit such a wide smile from the blonde. Prompto’s smiles were definitely a gift in Noct’s mind, they were just so pure and genuine, and seemed to just light up whatever room he was in.

It made Noctis even more determined than ever to help Prompto leave all that shit that had been his life, back in Niflheim, and start over new here in Insomnia.

“Now that we both have phones, after you get some more sleep, we can both play together in the game, rather than just taking turns with my phone.” The prince finished, still grinning at his latest triumph.   

“But Noct…” Prompto whined, while stifling another large yawn, “J-Just one quest… then I… p-promise I’ll… go to sleep…”

“You’re practically asleep already, buddy.” Noct chuckled, “I doubt you would even get past the title screen at this point. Don’t forget that you also have to design and build your own avatar before you even start the game. I can’t even begin to imagine the atrocity that you would make while blindly fumbling around with the controls right now.”

“Fine…” Prompto muttered. “The second… I wake up though… okay?” Another loud yawn was elicited from the blonde before he gratefully buried the side of his face into the excessively fluffy pillow that had been carefully placed behind his head, while also clutching his new phone to his body like a small child would cling to a prized stuffed animal.

There was a small, “…thanks Noct…” muttered before the blonde completely surrendered his exhausted body and mind to the soft and welcoming lull of unconsciousness, comforted by the fact that he knew a certain raven-haired prince would be there waiting when he woke up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments are always appreciated. :)
> 
> Come chat with me on tumblr! [ever-at-your-side-15](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/ever-at-your-side-15)


	11. A Brief Respite

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here we are with the first chapter update for 2018!! I am super excited to continue to work to develop this fic through the new year and I hope everyone reading it continues to enjoy it too! :)
> 
> Thanks for your continued support and in honor of the new year, have some cute fluffy-ness. I think the boys deserve a bit of happiness after all they've been through recently... they need to enjoy it... while it lasts... ;)

The next week passed by in somewhat of a blur for the two boys. Prompto spent much of the first few days after his surgery sleeping on and off; usually only able to stay awake for a few hours at a time, and Noct couldn’t really blame him. He would be lying if he said that he wasn’t tempted to do the exact same thing. Although that wasn’t all that different than how he usually felt, and he definitely didn’t have anywhere near the excuse that Prompto did.

Despite the fact that things had calmed down significantly since their arrival, the atmosphere still remained considerably tense whenever any doctors entered the room to check in on Prompto’s recovery.

Noct couldn’t help but notice as the blonde instantly stiffened, becoming much more visibly anxious anytime they entered the room. Luckily though, there had yet to be any incidents comparable to the first day they had arrived back in Insomnia.

“There doesn’t seem to be any complications from the surgery, so that’s definitely a good sign.” Dr. Arcand revealed as he was rifling through the papers he was holding. They were undoubtedly full of all the important information and results from monitoring the Prompto’s vitals since he had been brought up to the Prince’s room. “In the next few days or so, I would like to get a few more scans to make sure that things are healing properly this time.”

“Yeah, okay.” Noct nodded, “We can do that much, right Prom?” The prince joked, lightly squeezing the hand he was holding to reassure him while the doctor was talking.

“Yeah, I guess.” Prompto agreed, even though he was definitely not in any rush to head back down to the Infirmary. He had finally started to feel like he was starting to adjust to his new surroundings, but he also knew he had only glanced the very tip of the Iceberg that was living in the Crown City.

For one thing, he hadn’t been able to see much of anything past Noct’s own bedroom yet.

Despite that, he could still vividly picture all of the beautiful sights and sounds, and the sheer exuberance that seemed to encapsulate the surrounding city as they had arrived in the Regalia last week. He had only witnessed brief flashes of everything Crown City had to offer, and his desire to see what other surprises Insomnia had in store were only getting stronger as each day passed.

“Just keep getting lots of rest and in another few weeks or so we can start thinking about getting you into some therapy to start working on building up your strength in that foot again.” The doctor added with a smile and a wave.

“Have a good day, Your Highness,” The doctor bid farewell, his attention now focused back upon the young prince. “Please don’t hesitate to call if you need anything.”

Just as the Doctor left and the two boys were in the process of pulling out their phones to start up King’s Knight, the doors almost immediately swung open loudly once again.

Except this time, it wasn’t the Doctor… it was instead a younger and much taller male with tattoos all up and down his arms. Prompto didn’t recognize him, but he guessed by the way that Noct groaned, he knew him very well.

“Hey princess… you still alive in here?” the large, burly male asked. The guy looked as though he couldn’t be much more than a few years older than either he or Noct, but damn… he was massive.

“You’ve been shut away in your room all week, I almost thought that you were trying to pursue a career in professional sleeping or something. You think that you might have enough energy to get your ass out of this room to try and not get your butt kicked during a quick training session?” The male continued, completely unperturbed at having randomly barged into Noct’s room.

_Oh…_ Prompto thought to himself, _this must be Gladio… Noct’s sworn shield._

Prompto had heard plenty of stories from Noct about his shield over the years, but damn… in person, this guy was _huge_ … he could definitely see why he had been chosen to protect Noct.

“Oh, you are so on, big guy.” Noct answered with anticipation and with quite the cocky and confident attitude.

“I’m not going to be the one getting my ass kicked though.” The prince laughed.

“You’re certainly confident for someone who hasn’t done anything but sit on your ass for the past week, aren’t you? You think you’re going to be lucky enough to take me out?” The shield came back, already itching to show the prince who the real boss was.

“Lucks got nothing to do with it, Gladio. It’s called skill, and yeah, I can totally take you out.” If it had been Prompto in Noct’s position, he was pretty sure that he wouldn’t want to keep antagonizing the much larger male. With all that mass and large muscles, the dude had to have some serious power; but then Prompto reasoned that Noct might know something that he didn’t. If anything, the casual bantering between the two was entertaining in itself.

“Well then, what are you waiting for, _princess_?” Gladio finished, chuckling softly as he gestured towards the already opened door, waiting for the raven to join him. “Time to put your money where your mouth is.”

“Yeah, yeah. We’ll see who’s laughing once we finish.” Noct replied, as he all but jumped up off the chair that he had been lounging in, before suddenly hesitating as he noticed the quick flash of worry flash across Prompto’s face.

Prompto knew that nothing would happen while Noct was out training with his shield, and he certainly didn’t want to get in his way anymore than he already had been, so he really needed to just calm the hell down.

To his knowledge, Noct had indeed stayed true to his word, and not left the vicinity of the room since Prompto had woken up after his surgery, even though he was pretty damn sure that there had to be countless other better and more important things that Noct could and should be doing with his time.

Although, despite his constant protests, the dark-haired prince had already assured him multiple times that he didn’t care. In the end though, it still didn’t stop Prompto from feeling super guilty about it. He really appreciated everything that Noct had done for him, and didn’t want to intrude on something as important as his training with his shield.

If that meant he had to try and figure out a way to occupy himself for a few hours, that was just something that he would have to deal with. After all, it really was the least he could do.

“D-Don’t worry about me Noct…” He laughed, an obviously forced smile formed on his lips as he tried his best to sound casual, yet unable to keep the slight tremble out of his voice. He knew that he must look like a wreck, which was probably the reason that Noct hadn’t left already, but he tried… he really tried to put on a strong front.

He couldn’t realistically expect that he would be able to stay with Noct all the time. Sooner or later, he would need to find a way to stop using the prince as his crutch for everything. Maybe he should take this as an opportunity to try and start.

Not missing a beat however, the raven-haired prince casually beckoned his shield over. “Hey Gladio, you haven’t had the chance to officially meet Prompto have you?”

“Can’t say that I’ve have the pleasure.” Gladio replied as he steadily made his way over to where the two younger boys were currently clustered on and around Noct’s spacious bed.

“This the kid you brought back with you from Niflheim?” he asked. Gladio had only heard bits and pieces of what had happened with everything that had gone down during the crown’s most recent visit to the capital city, Gralea.

Noct had determinately shut himself up in his room since his return, so the bodyguard knew only the little bit that Iggy had revealed to him. All he had been told by the stoic advisor was that Noct was dealing with a certain situation, and had gotten permission from his father to suspend all duties as crown prince for the next couple of weeks.

“Yeah. Prompto is going to be living here in the Citadel from now on, and before you ask, I already talked to my dad about him being granted full Lucian citizenship, so I don’t want to hear you giving him any shit for being from Niflheim.” Noct finished with a serious tone so that there wouldn’t be any question if he were joking or not.

It wasn’t like he was all that seriously concerned about Gladio being a dick to Prompto because he was from Niflheim, but he had already gotten enough shit from people either in the Crownsguard, or the members of the Lucian council, among other notable groups. All with their own varying concerns about bringing said Niff into the Citadel, and honestly, Noct really didn’t want to go through the whole thing again with Gladio, even if it was in jest.

“Point taken.” Gladio replied plainly as he continued to the other side of the bed where the blonde boy was still sitting silently. “Nice to meet you, Prompto. Name’s Gladiolus Amicitia, sworn shield to the Crown Prince of Laziness right here.” He finished, unable to silence a quick snort, noticing the pointed death glare from said prince as he casually extended his hand for the blonde to shake.

“Uh… yeah, n-nice to meet you.” Prompto replied quietly as he hesitantly extended his own hand to meet Gladio’s much larger and rougher one.

It may have already been an entire week since he had arrived in Lucis, but Prompto still couldn’t quite help himself from being cautious when meeting strangers for the first time. It was hard to get used to the idea that these new people weren’t introduced to him for the sole purpose of tormenting him, but he just kept reminding himself that Noct had promised that Insomnia was different. It would be stupid to think that _everyone_ in Insomnia had good intentions, but Prompto trusted that Noct wouldn’t intentionally bring around someone with ill intentions in mind.  

“Hey Gladio…” Noct’s voice cut through the silence. “Before we head out, you mind trying to catch up with Dr. Arcand and see if we can get a wheelchair up here?”

The shield merely shrugged, unsurprised at the sudden request before he uttered a quick, “Yeah, got it. Be right back.”

“Noct, you don’t have to-” Prompto started to protest, the guilt inside him growing, knowing the prince was once again going out of his way to accommodate him when he really didn’t need to.

“Are you saying that you would honestly rather stay here?” Noct asked pointedly. “I mean if you really don’t feel up it, I’m not going to push you; but if your reason for not wanting to come is because you think I’m getting tired of you, then you’re being ridiculous.”

Judging by the way Prompto refused to look anywhere but in his direction, it was all the confirmation Noct needed to know that he had just hit the nail on the head.

“Hey, Prompto… I’m serious, look at me.” Noct uttered softly as he sat down on the bed right next to where Prompto was currently propped up on a bunch of pillows. He gently held one of the blonde’s hands in his own and used his free one to gently tilt the blonde’s chin up until their gazes met, their noses so close that they were practically touching. “You really need to stop thinking that you’re just some annoying and unnecessary burden to me. I wouldn’t waste my time with someone that I don’t care about.”

“You promise you’re not just saying that?” Prompto asked quietly after a few seconds of silence, his cheeks starting to heat up at the sudden close proximity between the two of them. Noct’s eyes were almost glistening and Prompto was surprised that he had never realized how piercing and mesmerizing they were before, it was near-impossible for the blonde to break his gaze.

“Promise.” Noct replied and the sincerity in those large blue orbs was absolutely striking. Prompto could do nothing but find himself stunned; so stunned in fact, that he totally missed Noct’s cheeks also start to turn a deep shade of red.

“Am I interrupting something here?” Gladio’s voice joked, breaking the silence as he swung the large, bedroom door open, pushing the empty wheelchair in front of him. “You two good, or should I come back later?”

“It’s n-nothing!” Prompto squeaked loudly, his gaze quickly breaking away and centering on the window opposite Gladio, attempting to hide his face so that he wouldn’t be able to see how red it was getting.

“Funny one there Gladio… you’re just full of all the jokes today, aren’t you?” Noct replied as he stood up and walked over to where his shield was still standing with the waiting wheelchair.

Although if he was being completely honest with himself, Noct wasn’t really sure what to make of what had just happened. It had started off as him simply reassuring his best friend of his importance and trying to prove to him once and for all that the blonde wasn’t just some dead weight that he kept around because he didn’t have anything better to do. After that he… he wasn’t sure.

“Hey, I do what I can.” The larger man grinned. “Oh, and the Doc wanted me to tell you that if you are insistent on taking the kid outside, make sure that he doesn’t exert himself; and under no circumstances are you allowed to take him any further than the secondary citadel gardens.”

“I guess I can live with that.” Noct shrugged as he grabbed the wheelchair still in front Gladio and rolling it over to the bed so that he could help Prompto maneuver himself into it. “I was going to suggest we go spar in the central inner gardens anyway.”

It only took about ten minutes before Prompto found himself being pushed by Noct in the wheelchair through long winding hallways and eventually making their way to one of the many small courtyards encapsulated within the Citadel.

The blonde had been a little hesitant in letting Noct drag him out of his room at first, but the moment that the three of them exited the building and ventured out into the large clearing, Prompto was beyond happy that he had agreed to come. The warmth from the sun’s rays above were so welcoming and soothing as they caressed the parts of his skin that were exposed to the open air.

Then, there was the courtyard itself. It was something of a beautiful masterpiece; the likes of which Prompto had only scarcely imagined through pictures within the books Noct had lent him.

The pictures he had poured over though, were absolutely nothing compared to the sight that met his eyes right now. The colors were so much more vivid and alive. Not only did the gardens look beautiful, but Prompto also couldn’t help but find himself reveling in the sweet, surrounding aroma of freshly cut grass and all the endless varieties of wildflowers and the like that flowed along the breeze.

When he closed his eyes, he could hear the sound of the wind between the trees and buildings, and all the birds singing to each other. It was a calm and euphoric peace that Prompto wished would never cease.  

“Wow…” He couldn’t help but mutter, his eyes widening, trying to take in all the new sights, sounds and smells.

“This is… just… wow.” He continued, trying desperately to think of a way to accurately explain how he was feeling, but his mind was just so stunned his mind had seemingly gone completely blank.

“If you think that this is impressive, just wait until you see the outer gardens that mark the border between the citadel and the rest of Insomnia. Now those… those are impressive.” Gladio added, grinning as he couldn’t help but watch the look of wonder completely consume the blonde’s face as they entered the small garden.

“You mean that there are places that are _larger_ than this one??” Prompto gasped, barely able to even imagine such a thing.

“If you really want to go, I can always try and talk to my dad and the Doc later and maybe we can check them out later this week?” Noct added from behind the blonde.

“Seriously??” Prompto asked excitedly, his hands dipping inside one of the large pockets of the old sweatpants he was currently wearing in search the small phone that Noct had given him last week.

“That would be so awesome...!” He finished as he finally managed to fish out his phone and started up the camera app that Noct had already taught him the basics of using, as he proceeded to start taking of anything and everything that caught his eye.

The next twenty minutes or so was spent with Prompto instructing Noct where to push him so that he could take pictures of everything and anything he could manage. There were even a few pictures that included a confused looking Gladio, and a laughing Noct after the Prince saw the candid picture of said shield.

After Prompto had gotten his fill of taking pictures (for the moment at least), Noct had wheeled the blonde over towards the edge of the small courtyard, before gathering with Gladio in the central clearing. They both started stretching, both preparing for the showdown that had brought the trio out to the courtyard in the first place.

Prompto had never really had a chance to see Noct fight, and was pretty curious to see how he would able to hold up against his larger, and seemingly much stronger opponent.

Prompto could easily recall how fired up Noct had been while they had been in the process of attempting to escape Gralea, and how he had been looking like he was ready to jump into the middle of some big melee. Although, oddly enough, there ended up being minimal physical conflict on Noct’s part, so Prompto still didn’t have much of an idea what he was actually capable of.

At first Prompto thought Gladio and Noct were just going to be fighting bare-handed seeing as neither of them had brought any weapons along. However, right as the two males seemed to clash, there was a large, sudden flash of blinding light, which forced Prompto to shut and cover his eyes with his outstretched hand. Once he managed to pull away the arm that had been shielding his face, he realized with a start that the two men in front of him were no longer unarmed.

Gladio now held what had to be the absolute largest double-bladed weapon that Prompto had ever seen in his life. The weapon itself was almost as big as the man that wielded it, and yet, he maneuvered it so effortlessly to match Noct’s lightning fast attacks, it looked as though the thing weighed no more than a few pounds.

While Gladio seemed content to stick with his oversized weapon, it seemed that Noct was not terribly attached to any one single type of weapon. Watching the raven fight was almost as breathtaking and exciting as when Prompto had first come outside.

He had definitely heard about how Noct had some sort of special magic that allowed him to warp around the battlefield. He was pretty sure it had something to do with Noct’s lineage, but there was quite a significant difference between being told stories about it, and actually witnessing it first-hand.

It was crazy watching how Noct would come within inches of getting hacked clean in half by the large and intimidating weapon wielded by his shield, just to effortlessly phase out of the way in a flash of bright blue crystals at the last possible second.

Another useful tactic that Prompto noticed Noct liked to use a lot, was the ability to be able to throw whatever weapon he was currently wielding, disappear, and then reappear right where the weapon landed. This allowed him to quickly zip in to try and break through Gladio’s guard, attempt to land a strike, before just as quickly zipping out of the other weapon’s range before the shield could land any kind of counter-strike.

Just watching the two males spar together was impressive to say the least. Leaping, sweeping, jumping and dodging around each other as they tried to throw the other off balance was utterly exhausting, and Prompto wasn’t even doing anything. Despite the fact that Noct had been sitting around keeping him company all week, he sure didn’t look like he was having any trouble keeping pace with the unrelenting advances of his shield.

Watching the two friends fight, it was clear that they both wanted to come out on top, and they weren’t holding anything back. Despite that, Prompto could also tell that they were enjoying the fight that the other person was putting up, and not trying to cause the other any real harm. It made Prompto think back to when he was really young and still in the midst of his training to become an MT.

He had been in the very early stages of training and had very minimal experience in actual combat situations. He did however, remember watching the older kids fight each other, and it was brutal.

Both sides were essentially ordered to kill or be killed, and the instructors would only put a stop to the training if things got so bad that one of the recruits either lost consciousness, or was otherwise unable to physically continue. In the chance that one combatant, either accidentally or intentionally, killed another trainee, their overseers barely batted an eye. If their eyes, if you couldn’t survive a simple training exercise, then you certainly wouldn’t even be useful as fodder on the battlefield.

It didn’t matter who your opponent was, whether they were friend or foe… you fought to survive another day, and hope that you were what Verstael was looking for at the time. If it ever came to be that Verstael decided you weren’t a suitable candidate, you were sent off immediately for decommissioning, and never heard from again.

A sharp, sudden chill shot up Prompto’s spine at the thoughts of MTs, Niflheim, and all the horrors he had left behind there.

In an attempt to distract his mind from such thoughts, he quickly focused his attention back up towards the beautiful and clear blue sky above him; reveling in feeling the warmth of in the rays of the midday sun. He quickly reminded himself that he was no longer in Niflheim, he was in Insomnia. He was in the Crown City of the nation of Lucis, and most of all, he was here with Noct by his side.

Holding tightly onto those thoughts, Prompto was finally able to allow his body to sink further back against the soft fabric of the wheelchair, letting out a small sigh of contentment, happy to continue to watch Noct and Gladio training.

After an indeterminant amount of time spent watching the two males in front of him continue to trade blows, Prompto was astounded that neither side had given in to the other yet. He could tell that both were winded and they were clearly moving slower than they had been at the beginning; but if Prompto was being completely honest, they seemed very fairly matched. Gladio was overwhelmingly strong, but Noct was exceedingly fast and had the advantage of his warping.

“Quite impressive, isn’t it?” an unfamiliar voice came from behind Prompto and nearly caused him to tumble out of his seat. He had been so caught up in watching the sparring match unfold in front of him, that he hadn’t heard anyone approach from behind him.

“My apologies for startling you… it was not my intention and I can assure you, I meant no harm.” The man continued as he came into view so that the young blonde could properly put a face to the voice directed towards him.

“It’s okay…” Prompto uttered, not entirely sure how the best way to respond would be, while also trying to catch his breath after the momentary scare. Should he apologize for being jumpy as shit…? Or maybe he was in the way…? Whatever it was, he wasn’t quite sure what he had done wrong to warrant this tall stranger in wanting to talk to him.

“You must be Prompto, I presume?” The man continued in a level voice, “I have heard many stories about you since his highness returned to the Crown City. I sincerely hope you are finding yourself adjusting with what I can only imagine is a considerable change in circumstances?”

Prompto could only remain frozen in his seat while he struggled to figure out how to respond to this newest stranger. The taller man must have had a talent for reading people though, because after a few seconds of silence, he bowed ever so slightly.

“Where are my manners…?” he chuckled quietly, “I am guessing that our young prince here has not yet told you about me?” The tall blonde asked, with a slight grin as Prompto hesitantly nodded. “It is a sincere pleasure to meet you, Prompto. My name is Ignis Scientia, and I act to advise and guide our budding prince to the absolute best of my ability on his journey to ascend the Lucian throne when the time comes.”

_Oh… right._ Now that Prompto thought about it, he did vaguely remember a few times when Noct mentioned the fact that he had an advisor, and joked about how he loved to fill up any free time that the raven had with going over political reports or other boring and monotonous royal duties. However, from Prompto’s experience thus far, the man seemed nice enough.

“N-nice to meet you.” Prompto replied as he tried his best not to stumble through his words.

From then on, Ignis attempted to engage the young blonde in what he hoped was simple conversation. He had noticed Prompto was holding tightly to the phone that he had clutched in some kind of death grip in his lap.

“Have you been enjoying your new phone?” The advisor asked simply, hoping that the topic of the device he had purchased at Noct’s request would serve as a simple segue to help the blonde to feel a bit more at ease.

“His Highness had it picked out specifically for you, and he was quite beside himself while trying to decide which model to get.” Ignis continued, that grin from before, still dancing across his face. “I merely suggested that it would probably be best to get you one similar to his own, so you would have at least a little bit of familiarity to work from.”

“Thank you.” Prompto replied quietly. “I appreciate that you took time to help, and yeah, I really like it.” The blonde was sure that that had to be the understatement of the new millennia, and he was honestly rather frustrated with the simplicity of the statement. Despite his desire to effectively portray precisely how grateful he was, he couldn’t seem to think of anything better to say.

On the other hand though, Prompto wasn’t sure there was any way or any word that would accurately be able to express how grateful he really was. Maybe though, in time he would be able to find a way to properly thank Noct and Ignis for the thing that signified the start of his new life in Insomnia.   

Deciding that it might be best to not push too hard, Ignis chose to embrace the peaceful silence that had settled between the two of them. He instead, chose to join the blonde in his previous activity of watching Gladio and Noct, still busy going at it with each other.

The prince and his shield continued with their current skirmish completely unfazed by the advisor’s arrival. That was, until Noct seemingly miscalculated one of his warp strikes and must have either tripped or slipped on something on the ground; because before he knew what happened, he found himself face-planting quite ungracefully into one of the larger flower beds next to where Ignis and Prompto were currently sitting.

“Smooth one there, Noct.” Gladio grunted, pausing as he stopped to catch his breath. “I would probably want to bury my face in the flowers too if I- oh hey, Iggy.” The shield quickly stopped mid-thought, finally glancing up long enough to notice Ignis’s arrival.

Noct, who was also quite out of breath, managed to wipe off the majority of the dirt that had stuck to his face, before planting his ass back on the ground, muttering about how he would have won if he hadn’t screwed up that last warp strike at the very last second.

“Hey Iggy. What are you doing here?” The moping prince asked, his head tilting at an angle so he could look at the advisor without actually having to move. “You need something? Or have you simply decided to grace us with the gift of your presence on this fine day?” Noct grinned.

“As much of a gift as my presence is, I did indeed have a purpose in coming here.” Ignis replied as he returned the playful grin of the Lucian prince. “I was pleased to see that someone finally managed to drag you outside to get a bit of fresh air. When I saw you and Gladio sparring, I thought I would get together a bit of a treat for everyone, and bring you guys some lunch to enjoy while you are soaking in the sunshine, seeing as I don’t know when this chance will arise again.” Ignis laughed and Noct let an audible sigh.

“First Gladio, and now you, Specs?” Noct asked, wondering when it had become ‘Let’s all give Noct shit day’ … “If you guys give me any more crap, then I may just have to retreat back into my room and prove you guys right.” The raven added with a bit of a mischievous smirk.

“Oh, I’m sorry… is someone getting their feelings hurt…?” Gladio joked.

“And what if I am?” Noct replied playfully.

“Then don’t give us such good ammunition.” Gladio added gruffly, while nudging the prince with his elbow.

Before Noct had a chance to reply, Ignis, who had disappeared for a few moments, returned to the group touting a large bag that he set on the ground and started promptly unpacking. The cook then set out a large blanket, before pulling out varying sizes of plastic containers and distributing the containers to their designated recipient.

Prompto almost couldn’t believe his nose when Ignis started uncovering all the different containers of food he had brought with him. There were all sorts of food that Prompto had only ever dreamed of seeing, carefully laid out and looking absolutely pristine within their respective containers.

It was astonishing, and Prompto’s stomach seemed to agree with his eyes, as at that very moment his stomach apparently decided to start moaning and growling with a fervor unlike anything he had ever heard before. Even the extravagant and elegant food that Noct had managed to sneak down to his cell while back in Niflheim had never been as tempting as this.

“I suppose this saves me the trouble of asking you if you’re hungry.” Ignis noted, with a small smile. Prompto was sure that he must have been talking to either Gladio or Noct, but seeing as both of them were already busy stuffing their face with their own portions, that couldn’t possibly be the case.

“I… umm-” Prompto mumbled, unconsciously glancing quickly over in Noct’s direction for some kind of guidance, but the raven was apparently completely focused on devouring the plate of food that had been set before him.

“Before you say anything, I made sure to discuss matters personally with Doctor Arcand about your… ahem, special circumstances in regard to nutrition and dietary needs.” Ignis noted quickly.

“With all of that in mind, I do hope that this stew that I put together will allow you to get a lot of well-needed nutrients, while also filling you up and not upsetting your stomach. There are some small chunks of tender meat that I threw in just in case you wanted to try and see how your body will react to more substantial and solid food-intake. If you end up liking it, let me know and I can always make you more.” The cook smiled as he carefully removed the lid and placed the small plastic bowl in the blonde’s lap before handing him some plastic utensils.

“Thanks…” Prompto could feel his face heat up, and he was pretty sure that it had nothing to do with the warm soup now resting on his lap. There was no doubt that he certainly appreciated it, but at the same time, he couldn’t help but find it overwhelming too. He couldn’t help but think about how he had caused Ignis to go out of his way to prepare something specifically for him.

“S-sorry that you had to go to the trouble...” he uttered, almost unconsciously.

“No trouble at all.” Ignis quickly countered as he pulled out a plastic container of his own, uncovered it, and proceeded to pull out a fork and start eating himself.

“I assure you, I always enjoy exploring my options and trying new things, so it was a welcome change.” The cook finished in between bites.

Prompto nodded, and not wanting to insult the man that had gone out of his way to accommodate him, he gingerly picked up the spoon and dipped it into the broth before bringing it up to his mouth. The moment the fragrant liquid touched his tongue, Prompto was sure that he had died and gone to heaven.

He had no idea that it was possible to have anything that tasted so rich and… could he say colorful? The flavors seemed to dance around on his tongue, and he reveled in the feeling of the warm liquid going down his throat and settling comfortably in his stomach.

It was incredibly tempting to join Noct in greedily slurping down the entire bowl. But if he did that… then it would be over. It would be all gone and he wouldn’t be able to revel in tasting all the new flavors that he had never known could possibly exist.

“Wow…” Was all the blonde could utter as he continued to slurp down the warm broth as fast as he possibly dared. “This… this is amazing…”

“I am pleased that it is to your liking.” Ignis replied, smiling lightly as he enjoyed watching the wonderment grow upon the blonde’s face as he continued to greedily slurp the broth of the stew he had been given. “Do be sure however, that you try to pace yourself, I would hate for you to make yourself sick.”

“Seems like your enjoying yourself over there, eh Prom?” Noct joined in, finally having finished devouring his own portion. The workout with Gladio had made him hungrier than he had realized and the moment he smelled his advisor’s cooking, his stomach had come alive like no other. At that moment, the only thing that Noct could concentrate on was getting the immaculate as usual meal into his empty stomach as fast as possible.

Prompto merely nodded enthusiastically in response as he started to poke tentatively at the small chunks of meat that were still swimming around in the broth.

“Maybe we’ll just have to have to get Ignis to cook stuff for you more often?” The prince joked and as soon as the words left his lips, he could see Prompto’s eyes go wide.

“Wait- seriously…?!?” The blonde spluttered, finally turning his focus away from the stew for long enough to stop inhaling the remaining remnants of the dish.

“I don’t see why not.” Ignis added. “If that is indeed something that you would like, I think we can certainly arrange it.” 

“T-That would be amazing…!” Prompto spluttered; smiling wide, before all of a sudden dropping his gaze back down to his lap.

“I mean… if that’s not too much trouble for you, that is.” The blonde muttered as he started to absently push the remaining remnants of the stew in his bowl around with the plastic utensil he had been given. “I really don’t want to be a bother…”

“As I said before, it’s no trouble at all.” Ignis smiled lightly, as he carefully placed the lid back on his own prepared meal and set it to the side. “I always enjoy being able to experiment with new dishes, so I can assure you, you would actually be doing me quite the favor.”

With that last remark, Prompto couldn’t help but smile. There was a part of him that knew that the other male was probably just saying this for his sake, but he appreciated it nonetheless. “Well, when you put it that way, I guess that would be okay.” He finished, unable to stop himself from grinning.

“So, it’s settled then.” Ignis replied. “I will make sure to discuss things further with the doctor and start researching some recipes that should help in aiding your recovery.”

“Oh man Prom,” Noct interjected, “You’re really gonna get spoiled now.” The prince finished with a chuckle.

“Not any more than you already are, Noct.” Ignis replied without hesitation.

“Hey…!” Noct groaned. “I thought we had gotten past the whole giving me a hard time thing. Why can’t you guys pick on someone else for a change…”

“What’s that, Noct?” Gladio now chimed in. “I can’t hear you over all that complaining like a wuss.”

“Prom…” The prince uttered, now turning back to face the blonde, “You gotta help me out, I’m totally getting double teamed over here…”

“Sorry, dude.” Prompto laughed. “I know a losing battle when I see it.”

“Well, I’m glad that I can always count on your support…” Noct replied with a feigned annoyance.

Prompto couldn’t help but laugh, and it wasn’t long before Ignis and Gladio joined in as well. Even Noct couldn’t help but let out a short chuckle.

Once the collective laughter had died down, Prompto shifted his attention back to the stew that Ignis had given him, stabbing one of the smaller chunks of meat in the bowl and bringing it up to hover around his lips. It smelled just as good, if not better than the broth he had all but finished devouring.

Prompto bit down on the soft meat, which seemed to practically melt in his mouth; and if he thought it couldn’t get any better than the soup, he had never been so happy to be so mistaken in his life.

It didn’t take much longer than the time it took for the first bite to travel down to his stomach, then he had already brought another helping up to his lips, savoring the simple and yet so satisfying flavor ghosting over his taste buds. The thought that this kind of thing could possibly become a regular occurrence was something that was almost too good to be true, and yet here it was calling out to him.

Prompto couldn’t help but grin as he quickly consumed the rest of the delicious meat in the bowl, wondering what he had ever done to be as lucky as he felt at this very moment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much for reading!
> 
> Comments are always appreciated. :)
> 
> Come chat with me on tumblr! [ever-at-your-side-15](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/ever-at-your-side-15)


	12. Rising Tensions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow... my sincerest apologies on the wait for this next chapter!! D: I got really busy last month getting ready for a con that I went to and I also participated in the FFXValentines Exchange, so that certainly stole my attention for awhile. Then after all the craziness died down I got pretty burnt out and then had this huge period of writer's block, which is why this chapter has taken so long to get up. 
> 
> However! I am definitely super excited to get back to writing this fic and as a bit of an apology for taking so long to update I gift everyone with this total monster of a chapter! I was originally planning on separating it into two, but just couldn't find a good break to do so and felt you guys deserved a little something for me keeping you waiting for so long. 
> 
> Hope everyone enjoys!! <33

Things carried on in much the same manner, as Prompto was swiftly consumed in the process of ingesting the remaining portions of the stew Ignis had prepared for him. There was a part of him that was slightly concerned that eating so much in such a short time would make him sick; but he was also pretty damn sure he wouldn’t be able to stop now, even if he wanted to.

Gladio, Noct and Ignis struck up a casual conversation about some stuff that Prompto didn’t really understand, though he could honestly couldn’t care less about that. It was a picture of complete peace and if Prompto had even entertained such a thought being possible a few months ago, he would have convinced himself that he had finally gone completely mental.  

“Damn, I’m tired….” Noct muttered under his breath as he yawned and stretched before practically collapsing so his lower body remained on the blanket Ignis had set out, while the upper half of his body fell back against the soft grass that lay beyond the fluffy blanket.

“That’s what you get when you bail on your training all week and do nothing but laze around your room.” Gladio gladly added with a quick grin.

“And what’s your excuse?” Noct came back, still practically spread eagle on the ground.

“My excuse for what?”

“Almost getting your ass kicked by the guy who’s been ‘lazing around his room all week’.”

“Yeah, keep dreaming princess…” Gladio snorted. “I had you exactly where I wanted you the entire time.”

“Uh huh…” Noct hummed in response. “Whatever lets you sleep better at night, big guy.”

After Gladio had a good long laugh, Ignis must have decided it was time to clean up, as he start busying himself with gathering up all the empty food containers strewn about on the ground, as well as shaking out the blanket he brought in an attempt to dislodge any grass or dirt that may have gotten stuck.

“I wish I could stay, but I must be on my way…” Ignis stated plainly as he finally finished folding up the large blanket and piling all of the empty containers he had previous gathered on top. “And Noct…?”

“Yeah?” Noct asked, ever so slightly wary of what his advisor was about to say.

“I was talking with your father and Cor earlier today.” Ignis noted, pausing for a moment so he could re-adjust his glasses before continuing, “There are some matters of the utmost importance they wish to discuss with you as soon as you are available.”

Noct finally managed to summon the willpower to sit himself up once again, facing the now towering advisor before him. Although before he could manage to reply, Ignis spoke up once more.

“Before you ask, I was not given any specifics. Though, if I were to wager a guess, I would assume that it would have something to do with our newest guest and your most recent ventures in Niflheim.” Ignis finished as his eyes flicked quickly over towards the blonde, whose body language suddenly went from relaxed and happy, to stiff and anxious in a matter of milliseconds. “Seeing as both His Majesty and the Marshal requested his presence as well.”

“Way to ruin the mood there Iggy.” Noct groaned, “Glad to know I can still always count on you to be the royal kill joy…”

“You don’t have to go see them right at this very moment.” Ignis sighed, “In fact, your father is actually in the midst of a very important council meeting right now, so he wouldn’t be available, regardless. Although, seeing as your schedule is currently wide open, I will let them know you will be available shortly after dinner tonight. That way you won’t have to worry about ‘forgetting’ or any other cataclysmic cause of that nature which may lead to you miss such a meeting.” Ignis couldn’t help but chuckle, knowing well the Prince’s ironic tendencies to ‘forget’ important meetings he conveniently didn’t want to go to.

“Noct? Forget a meeting? Say it isn’t so Iggy…” Gladio laughed. If he had a nickel for every time Noct also conveniently ‘forgot’ to come to their early morning trainings before school, he would be quite well off.

“And why do I like you guys again…?” Noct groaned.

“What’s not to like?” Gladio laughed. “We’re treasures, and you would be lost without us.”

“Yeah,” Noct laughed, “That may have been true before, but Prompto’s here now, so there.” The prince finished, sticking out his tongue while not caring at all how childish it might be.

“Just make sure you’re ready by dinner time, okay?” Ignis asked as he attempted to get everything he brought out situated so that he would be able to make it back to the kitchens without dropping it.

“You need any help there, Iggy?” Gladio asked, noticing the slimmer man continuing to attempt to tame his awkward juggling act.

“Your assistance would be most appreciated Gladio, thank you.” Ignis paused before replying, gracious for the offered help.

Gladio quickly took the large blanket and a couple of the bulkier food containers from the other’s arms, which only left Ignis required to wrangle the remaining half dozen or so smaller ones.

“It was a pleasure to officially meet you, Prompto.” Ignis spoke, tipping his head forward in lieu of a handshake so he wouldn’t accidentally drop everything he was carrying and have to start the process of packing everything up all over again. “After I get all of this taken back to the kitchens, I will make a point to discuss matters with Dr. Arcand about coming up with a nutritional plan that will be to your liking as well as aid in your recovery, with special attention to your specific dietary needs of course.”

“Thanks.” Prompto uttered, pausing for a moment, before quickly adding, “It was uh- nice to meet you too.”

The advisor nodded smiling, and Prompto suddenly wished he could do more to thank Ignis for going out of his way to help him like he had, but what could he possibly do to help this man who seemed to know the answer and have a solution for everything? Maybe he could ask Noct a little later and see if he had any ideas.

“Check you guys later.” Gladio bid farewell as he and Ignis turned back towards the overhang which led back into the citadel. “Try not to fall asleep and strand the poor kid here for the rest of the afternoon, okay, Noct?”

The prince merely waved the shield off and resumed his previous comfortable position with his head resting against the soft soil, gazing up at the clear blue sky above. With the advisor and shield gone, the small courtyard was almost completely silent except for the soft sounds of the grass blowing in the gentle breeze, and birds and other various types of wildlife visiting the gardens as they went about their daily business.

Noct had been just about to drift off to sleep when he noticed Prompto staring at him with a strange sort of look out of the corner of his eye.

“Something the matter?” He questioned casually, not missing the way the blonde started to blush when he realized he had been caught staring.

“Not really…” Prompto hummed. “That position just doesn’t seem like it would be all that comfortable, but I dunno…” he trailed off, obviously too embarrassed to finish the thought.

“Why don’t you come and see for yourself?” Noct replied with a smirk. “You might be surprised.”

“And how exactly do you expect me to do that?” The blonde remarked as he motioned towards his still heavily casted foot. “It’s not like I can just waltz over there and lay down next to you.” He finished, distracted only slightly by the fact that the growing heat in his face was refusing to subside.

“Hmm… guess you’re stuck there then.” Noct replied, smirking playfully.

“Noct…!” Prompto whined loudly. “That’s not fair.” He finished, quickly proceeding to cross his arms and pout, which Noct couldn’t help but find incredibly adorable. _Holy shit. Had his mind just described Prompto as adorable…?_ I mean, well it was hard to argue with, the evidence as clear a day… but still, Noct found it odd that that was the first word that came to mind.

Decidedly pushing those thoughts out of his brain, the raven-haired youth pushed himself up just enough so that he could stand up and walk over to where the blonde was still sitting in his wheelchair frowning indignantly.

“You know I’m just kidding with you, Prom.” Noct laughed lightly. “But I really can’t do anything if you keep pretending to mope like that.”

At this comment, all evidence of Prompto’s previous annoyances dissolved off his face almost instantly. His whole demeanor changing as the blonde grinned, tentatively extending his arms up and out so that they could wrap around the back of Noct’s neck. Once Noct was sure that Prompto was ready, he gently lifted the other boy out of his wheelchair and slowly lowered him back down to the ground until Prompto was sitting comfortably on the grass right next to him.

“Wow, okay…” Prompto remarked, “I guess I have to give it to you on this one… it’s actually a lot better than I thought it would be.”

The blonde then proceeded to lay back until his back was completely flat against the ground like Noct had been moments prior. He couldn’t help but feel surprised at how all the blades of grass almost acted as though they were hugging his slight frame.

Prompto had seen many pictures of people spreading themselves out in wide, open pastures in a lot of the books Noct had brought him before, but he had always assumed that sort of thing was more for sake of aesthetics than comfort.

“Told you.” Noct replied smugly. “Sometimes, when I’m hiding from Specs and avoiding boring crown stuff, I like to come here. It’s one of the few gardens that has a completely unobstructed view of the sky; and it also helps that it’s a bit more out of the way, so people don’t frequently pass through it unless they have to.”

“Yeah…” Prompto murmured in agreement, watching in awe as the few clouds that were in the sky passed slowly by. “I wish we could just stay out here like this forever…” he muttered.

The words were out of his mouth before Prompto even knew what had happened, and the moment his brain realized what he had said, he froze; praying to any of the astrals that might listen that Noct hadn’t heard that last little remark. To his utter relief, his question seemed to be answered seconds later when without missing a beat, Noct continued talking on and on about various random things, either not having heard his confession, or at least paying no mind to it.

“-used to hide out here when I was a kid and didn’t want to go to school either… it’s honestly a miracle no-one’s ever realized it, even after all these years.” Noct finished, Prompto finally able to shake himself from being consumed by his almost slip-up.

“Impressive.” Prompto chuckled, hoping that the response would be appropriate enough for Noct not to realize that he had completely zoned until just now, “Seems like it would take a lot to pull one over on Ignis.”

“Yeah…” Noct yawned, closing his eyes as he could feel the urge to sleep pulling stronger and stronger with each passing moment. “I may complain about him and argue with him a lot, but there’s no question that he’s always been there to support me no matter what. If it weren’t for him, I don’t know where I’d be…”

“He does seem pretty irreplaceable.” Prompto couldn’t help but let out a large yawn himself. It was quickly getting harder and harder for him not to follow suit with Noct, closing his eyes and surrendering himself to the serenity of the moment he found himself in.

As much as he tried to fight it, it seemed as though everything around Prompto was conspiring together to pull him under. The grass felt so comforting underneath his body, something that he never felt back in Niflheim… the slight breeze coupled with the calming sounds all around them all lulling him gently to sleep.

Arranging himself ever so slightly so that his casted leg wasn’t lying at a horribly awkward angle, Prompto could already feel himself drifting off, comforted by the already steady breathing from the raven-haired boy already fast asleep next to him.

Both he and Noct were lying so close that their arms and legs were practically touching. It was a strange and foreign feeling, being so close to someone else… but Prompto would sure as hell be lying if he said he wasn’t enjoying it. He could feel the warmth radiating from the body lying next to him and suddenly Prompto found himself craving the human contact that he had been so incredibly deprived of his entire life.

He wanted, no he _needed_ to feel that there was someone there, to know that he wasn’t completely alone anymore. His body seemed to override any and all suggestion or restraint from his brain and before the blonde knew it, he had wedged himself right up against Noct’s side, nestling his face up against the other boy’s chest.

Prompto knew that it was probably wrong to take advantage of the fact that Noct was asleep so he couldn’t exactly ask if the other was okay with this, but there was something that just felt so right about it. Prompto just hoped and prayed to the six that Noct wouldn’t completely hate him if he ever found out about it.

_Just a few minutes longer_ … he thought to himself silently. _Then I promise, I’ll go back and no-one will ever have to know._

As long as he re-situated himself before Noct woke up, then everything would be okay, right?

Noct would never need to know what had happened and the two of them could just move on with their lives with no-one the wiser of Prompto’s moment of lapse of weakness.

Prompto had been determined to stay awake; however, as luck would have it, his body was apparently even more determined to get some serious shut-eye. This was evident by the fact that before he even had a chance to think about how could possibly resituate himself, he was already snoring lightly, curled up tightly against the similarly dozing prince beside him.

* * *

Noct had been in the middle of a really good dream when all of a sudden, he kept hearing a very familiar, and _very_ annoying chiming noise. It wasn’t obnoxiously loud, just loud and annoying enough to prevent him from comfortably falling back asleep again.

_There it is again… why won’t that stupid tune just stop already and give me some peace of mind??_ Noct thought to himself, as he found himself being pulled further and further away from the sleep he so craved.

After about the fifth time that the same exact tune had played through was the point where Noct finally came to accept the fact that he was fighting a losing battle. His brain was apparently now functioning enough to realize that the noise that had so rudely ruined his nap was in fact originating from his phone discarded on the ground somewhere near him.

Instinctively, Noct attempted to sit up and look around for where precisely his phone had gotten to, when he quickly realized there was a significant weight preventing him from doing so.

“Uh- Prompto…?” The raven muttered, trying to remember if the two of them had been practically sandwiched together before he had fallen asleep, or if he had missed something completely in the meanwhile.

The blonde boy’s face was mere inches from his own, his body curled up against Noct’s so that he was practically draped alongside him. This was probably the closest that the two of them had ever been, and strangely Noct couldn’t help but be captivated by the calm and relaxed expression on the other boy’s face.

Then, the prince’s brain seemed to kick in and remind him of exactly how close the two of them were. Their bodies pressed up against the other, practically asleep in the other’s arms… it was a very intimate position and while Noct expected it to feel uncomfortable, embarrassing or awkward, it didn’t. It just felt… right...?

_Shit-_ Noct’s thoughts cut off, despite the fact that his face continued to heat up as his phone once again decided to start chiming loudly.

He didn’t want the noise from the phone to wake Prompto, but at the same time he couldn’t reach the damned thing with either of his hands at this angle. Not only that, but with Prom situated the way he was, Noct was convinced that any significant amounts of movement would undoubtedly rouse him regardless. It was really just a lose-lose situation all the way around.

As carefully as he could, Noct attempted to slowly maneuver himself just enough so that he could barely grasp the edge of his phone with his fingertips before bringing the device close enough to grab it and actually try and figure out why the heck it was having such a fit.

The prince couldn’t help but groan when he managed to get a good look at the screen and notice all the notifications of texts and missed calls from Ignis. Then, like clockwork, a moment later the damn process started all over again. The phone buzzed, chimed and Ignis’s picture showed up on the screen.

“Specs?” Noct grunted. “What the heck is going on and what’s with all the non-stop spamming?”

Noct barely paid attention when Ignis started rattling on about some special dignitaries that would be arriving in Insomnia shortly. He mentioned that it would probably not be the best circumstances if the Crown Prince was all but missing during the entire visit, so they would have to come up with a plan for helping Prompto remain safe during the times that Noct would need to be entertaining their very important visitors.

After all, with the threat of war closing in, Lucis would need to gather all the allies they could if they wished to stand a chance against the ruthless Empire.

Noct knew he should probably be paying more attention to what his advisor was saying, but his attention was drawn away from the conversation by the now visibly rousing blonde beside him.

At first it was just a twitch here, or a scrunching of his nose there; but the amount of idle movement from the blonde was definitely starting to increase. This continued for a short time, until Prompto finally managed to blearily open and start rubbing his eyes, pausing slightly as he attempted to remember exactly where he was and what he had been doing before he had dozed off.

“Noct? Are you listening? It is of the utmost importance that we secure the support from as many other countries as possible-”

“Yeah, sure. Don’t worry Iggy, I got it.” Noct assured the voice on the other line, despite the fact that he really wasn’t paying much attention to the conversation at all. If what Iggy was saying was really that important, then he would undoubtedly remind Noct later.

“What the-” He cut in, when all of a sudden, Prompto, who had still been in the process of fully waking up, unexpectedly jerked backwards away from him as he quickly detangled himself from Noct’s arms and legs.

“Iggy, I’m gonna need to call you back, okay? Bye.” The prince uttered, before promptly hanging up and turning his attention to the blonde who was now a good foot or two away from where he was still sitting.

“What’s up, Prom? You okay?” he asked, worried that this could the beginning of another panic attack or something. “You have a bad dream or something?”

“I-I didn’t mean to Noct…” Prompto started apologizing as he tried to rub the last remnants of sleep from his eyes, fully realizing that he had been caught red-handed. “I swear… I won’t do it again...”

“Do what?” Noct asked, completely lost. What the hell did Prompto think he had to apologize for anyway…? He woke up only seconds ago, so it just didn’t make a lick of sense.

“For um…” The blonde started nervously as his body continued to shrink back, his one good leg pulled up close to his chest and his eyes staring straight at the ground. “You know…”

Noct was hoping that Prompto would be a little more specific, so he could figure out what was bothering the blonde so much, but all he received was silence and the steadily reddening of Prom’s face. It was only a few seconds later that a thought finally struck him.

“Wait- are you uh, talking about us waking up next to each other just now?” Noct questioned, the ever so slightest nod from Prompto being all the confirmation he needed.

“Don’t worry about it. Really, it’s no problem at all.” _It was actually kind of… nice?_ Noct replied softly, daring only to think the last part because Prompto was so obviously bothered by it, and the last thing that Noct wanted to do was to make him even more uncomfortable.

In an attempt to quell the rising anxiety Noct could feel building in his chest, he let out a deep breath, quickly stretched, and jumped back up to his feet.  

His eyes flicked back to his phone and found himself decently surprised when he realized that Ignis would be expecting him and Prompto to show up for dinner in a little over an hour.

“Wow, we must have been out longer than I thought…” Noct chuckled, though he figured he probably shouldn’t have been so surprised. It wasn’t like it was all that unusual for him to pass out for a few hours at a time when he was really tired. The training with Gladio earlier probably didn’t much to help with the matter either. “Guess we should probably head back to the room to get ready for dinner.”

Prompto remained silent and even more drawn into himself than before, as if that was even possible.

“Need help getting back into the chair, or are you just going to live out here now?” Noct joked, trying to lift the uncomfortable, heavy atmosphere that had settled around them. Although despite his best efforts, he didn’t receive so much as a forced smile in response.

“You know Iggy is going to have our heads if we’re not back in the room and ready for dinner when the time comes.” Noct attempted once again, hating how tense things had gotten, especially when Prompto had been so cheerful and in such a good mood before.

In just the past few days, Noct had finally started noticing Prompto slowly starting to come out of his shell and he prayed to Shiva that this little hiccup, whatever it was, wouldn’t send him spiraling backwards.

“You know… if we get back quick enough, then we can probably spend any extra time we have finishing that one quest in King’s Knight that you wouldn’t stop talking about last night.” Noct tried once more. If this didn’t work, then he was at a complete loss as to how to reach the blonde.

The next few moments felt like an eternity as Noct watching Prompto debate on whether or not to respond to his most recent attempt to cheer him up.

“Okay…” Prompto finally uttered softly. “But you better not hog all the good loot this time.” He finished, and Noct could have sworn he had seen the corners of the blonde’s lips curve ever so slightly upward.

“Hey, it’s not my fault the game loves me.” Noct laughed as he kneeled down beside the blonde once again so that Prompto could wrap his arms around his neck, holding on tightly while the both of them rose off the ground until the blonde could situate himself comfortably in the wheelchair.

“What can I say, I’m just naturally lucky.” Noct smirked, and Prompto simply proceeded to roll his eyes.

“Not exactly the word I’d use, but yeah, sure… we’ll go with that.” Prompto finished with a small laugh.

“You’re just jealous.”

“Of you? Never.”

“Oh, you’re lucky I like you Prom… cause if you were anyone else, I might actually take offense to that.” Noct joked, handing Prom’s phone back to him as he started pushing him back towards their room.

Silence once again descended between the two, but it was worlds apart from the suffocating pressure that had existed between them mere moments ago.

“Hey Noct…?” Prompto asked softly as they were making their way down one of the hallways in the huge maze that comprised the Citadel.

“Yeah, what’s up?”

“You um… you think we could uh, do that again sometime?” Prompto mumbled it so quietly that Noct almost didn’t catch it. “B-Being outside, I mean. It was really nice, ya know? If not, it’s fine… I just thought-”

“What are you talking about? Of course, we can.” Noct smiled widely. “We can go hang out there as much as you want. You know, it might even serve to get Iggy and Gladio off my back about spending so much time in my room.” Noct chuckled.

If Noct were being honest, it had actually felt pretty good to get outside and breathe some fresh air. He almost couldn’t believe it when he was actually enjoying himself while training with Gladio. Maybe he should talk to his shield about making this a usual routine, so that Prompto could continue to enjoy himself and better yet, he wouldn’t have to continue to make up excuses to keep missing training with Gladio.

“Oh, and speaking of which, I’m still planning on talking to my dad about trying to work something out so that we can go out on a quick trip into the city once your foot has had a little more time to heal.” Noct continued.

“Unless you think that that is going to be too much, of course.” He quickly added, not wanting to force the blonde to do anything before he was completely ready to do so, but he was quickly encouraged to continue by the slowly growing grin on the blonde’s face.

“I was thinking the other night that we would definitely need to hit up the arcade first. Then, there’s this really awesome burger place downtown that I’m pretty sure you’d love.” Noct continued eagerly. “It’s definitely a different feel than here in the Citadel, but it can be fun if you know where to go. Lucky for you, you also just so happen to have the Crown Prince as your personal tour guide.” Noct finished, only serving to get even more and more excited just thinking about all the cool places that he could show Prompto once the blonde was well-enough to explore the city.

“Yeah?” Prompto asked, the excitement just as clear and present in his voice as well. “You really think that would work?”

“I don’t see why not.” The prince shrugged casually.

“Cool, yeah. That would definitely be awesome.” Prompto grinned, already caught up daydreaming about the prospect of being given another opportunity to witness the beauty of the Insomnia first hand, aside from behind the large windows of Noct’s room at the Citadel of course.

* * *

“Don’t forget that both you and Prompto are still expected to meet with your father and the Marshal directly following dinner.” Ignis noted carefully as the three boys were walking down the hallway towards the main dining room.

“Yeah, yeah…” Noct muttered. “Like you would ever let me forget that.”

“I dare say that I have seen stranger things in my day.” Ignis replied, with a bit of a smirk. “After all, what kind of royal advisor would I be if I let you miss out on all of your important duties?”

“A kind and understanding one.”

“Yes, well while I’m sure it would be splendid if you were allowed to waste away to nothing while you became one with your bed, I feel as though the future king of Lucis should know a little bit more than just how to get “rad loot” from a certain mobile game one is addicted to.” Ignis replied, and Noct could help but let out a loud laugh at the image of Ignis actually using air quotes in his argument.

When Noct managed to stifle his unexpected laughing fit, he couldn’t help but add, “Awnnn… Iggy don’t be like that. Don’t try to pretend you don’t enjoy playing King’s Knight with me when you get some free time every now and again.”

The advisor merely adjusted his glasses and shrugged at the prevailing comment, all three of them pausing as they reached the large doors which lead to the main dining room in the Citadel.

\----------------------

Dinner as a whole was particularly uneventful. There was some quiet small talk exchanged as Regis attempted to engage his son in some polite conversation asking how things had been going since the king hadn’t had much of a chance to catch up with him as of recent.

Prompto however, felt comfortable enough to sit silently in his seat, savoring the taste of Ignis’s cooking on his tongue. The food he had brought in for dinner was just as good if not better than whatever it had been that Ignis had made him for lunch earlier that day.

It wasn’t long until his stomach was happy and full, a feeling that Prompto still found himself getting used to as he leaned back in the large cushioned chair Noct had helped him get in when they first arrived. The satisfied blonde closed his eyes, allowing his body to sink backwards into the soft fabric supporting him as he listened to Noct continuing to converse politely with his father.

It was only a short time later when the doors to the dining hall burst open and a man who Prompto had never seen before strode purposefully into the spacious hall, before stopping beside the King and whisper something into his ear.

“Ignis,” Regis started as he rose from his seat at the long table. “I trust you to make sure that there are no unexpected detours from here if I depart a bit earlier than scheduled?”

The advisor nodded, the small hint of a smirk ever-present at the thinly veiled remark. “Yes, Your Majesty. I will assure that our meeting will commence right after the conclusion of dessert.”

There was an audible groan from the raven-haired youth seated adjacent to the departing king, but Noct made no further attempt to communicate his disapproval.

“Well, in that case…” Regis added as he began to follow the unfamiliar man waiting by the door. “I leave him in your capable hands.”

“I’ll see to it that we join you as soon as we wrap up everything here.”

Cue another soft disapproving sound from Noct as his father stood up and left, before quickly refocusing back on the food still left uneaten on his plate.

Dessert soon came and went and before he knew it, Prompto found himself back in his wheelchair being pushed by Noct down yet another random hallway in the Citadel.

They were supposedly on their way to this mysterious meeting that Ignis had as of yet, refused to say reveal anything about, other than it was of the utmost importance that both of them attend.

After navigating through what Prompto felt like was an absolute labyrinth of confusing corridors and changing floors and thoroughly convincing himself that he would never be able to figure out how to navigate around this place, they approached a door past which Prompto was fairly certain he could hear loud arguing voices.

When Ignis reached the door and pulled it open, the voices stopped suddenly and Prompto quickly found himself facing down not just one or two, but a whole handful of very stern, and very grim looking Lucians. They were all much older looking, and if Prompto had to guess, they seemed to be much around the same age as Noct’s father. The man that had interrupted their dinner was there, along with Cor and of course the King of Lucis himself, right smack in the middle of everything.

“I believe it best that we table this particular discussion for the time being.” Regis said firmly, causing any conversation that had not already ceased to do so. “I know I would like a moment to digest all that we have discussed before we move to make any choices that we may regret later.”

There was a soft murmuring of agreement, before the other men that had been gathered around the large table started to disperse, while at the same time refraining from completely leaving the vicinity of the small office. Various idle conversation started up not long after, and although Prompto could still feel the air of suspense and frustration, it was clear that the men were no longer going after each other with the venom that had covered their words before.

“My apologies for our rudeness.” Regis uttered, his voice soft and genuine as he walked over towards the three youngest members now in the room. “You can imagine how tempers might flare when discussing matters which involve such somber circumstances.” The man’s voice was serious, but also gentle. “War is never a light subject and sometimes in order to secure our future, tough decisions must be made. But of course, you need not pay too much attention to the ramblings of an old man.”

“Okay… so, what is so important that you needed Ignis to practically drag me and Prompto over here on such short notice?” Noct questioned, wasting no time in getting to the heart of the matter.

“Ah, yes.” Regis smiled brightly as he changed his focus from his son, to the blonde still sitting silently in the chair in front of him. “I must once again apologize for not being able to check in more frequently on how your recovery has been going, Prompto.”

“O-Oh… no need f-for that…. Your M-Majesty.” Prompto replied quickly, unable to stop himself from stammering like mad. I mean, it wasn’t like he was talking to anyone important like the freaking _King of Lucis_ or anything.

“But t-thank you…!” He nearly shouted, realizing with a start that he had never officially thanked the king for everything that he had done. “For um- you know... protecting me… back in Gralea…” he finished, his voice so soft as it was trailing off, that Regis had to lean significantly closer to the boy in order to catch it.

Prompto could definitely feel his face heating up now, his nerves quickly overwhelming him until he could no longer bear to look the older man in the eyes. Instead proceeding to busy himself with wringing his hands tightly with the hem of the loose t-shirt he had borrowed from Noct.

The more he thought about it though, the more Prompto realized with a start that not making eye contact with the man before him was probably seen as incredibly rude, and only etro knew what they did to people in Lucis who showed such disrespect to the King… specially to some lowly Niff like himself.

Would they throw him out of the Citadel for transgressions against the Crown? Or maybe they would prefer to cart him off to the dungeons that most likely hidden somewhere beneath the Citadel?

Prompto wasn’t really sure which option was worse. There was a large part of him fairly certain that if he were just dumped out into the streets of Insomnia, the chance he would actually be able to survive on his own would be slim to none. At the same time, Prompto knew that Niflheim would be due for a sudden heatwave before he preferred the alternative of being thrown back down into an endless imprisonment beneath another capital. After having been given a taste of the freedom that existed beyond the cold, heavy bars of the prison, that had been for all purposes his home back in Niflheim, it would only serve to make his return that much more painful.

Prompto was convinced the moment he chose to lock eyes with the powerful man, he would catch the hateful and disapproving glare of Noct’s father, the almighty King of Lucis.

“You’re quite welcome, young man; but I’m afraid I cannot take all of the credit.” Regis replied, pulling the young blonde so abruptly from his endless worrying.

“There were many people whose effort went into being able to secure our escape route from Gralea, I merely did what I felt was best for my country at the time.” The king continued and Prompto could barely believe what he was hearing. “We will certainly need to take advantage of any and every opportunity to get an advantage on Niflheim in the coming weeks.”

That was definitely not even in the same universe of words Prompto had been expected to hear. While they served to give the blonde a certain amount of relief, they also serve to cause a heavy weight of guilt settle in the very pit of his gut.

“Stop stalling, dad. I know you didn’t bring us here to check on Prompto’s recovery. What is it that we’re really here for?” Noct quickly asked, breaking the silence as he proceeded to push Prompto further into the room until they approached the large desk around which everyone in the room had been hovering previously. It had many large and important looking documents lying scattered all over and on top of each other in what seemed to Prompto to be nothing but a chaotic mess.

The blonde youth didn’t recognize most of the men that had been surrounding the scattered papers. The only person he recognized, other than the king of course, was Cor; and it was very clear that the Marshal was not in a good mood as his eyes continued to roam over the information spread out all around him.

There was a tense and uneasy silence as Prompto wondered if Noct’s question would go unanswered, and it was only after another few seconds of watching and waiting that Cor took a moment to scratch his chin and whisper something to the unfamiliar Lucian directly beside him.

“Glad you brought the kid with you.” He finally responded. His attention was clearly focused elsewhere, even as he turned to face the three young newcomers and his king. “I asked Ignis to bring you two here because it’s about time we started getting some of those answers you two promised us back in Gralea.”

Prompto could instantly feel his entire body starting to go numb and his heartrate begin to skyrocket until it felt as though his heart would beat right of his six-damned chest.

Of course, Prompto knew that this moment would come eventually. He probably should have seen it coming from a mile away, but the only thing he could think about right now was the sad truth that he simply didn’t have anything else to offer. It wasn’t exactly his fault that his captors never seemed to make an effort to keep him informed of things that were actually pertinent to his situation.

In fact, Prompto wasn’t even sure if he could recall them ever making any kind of comments actually directed specifically to him. Well, not unless you counted their almost constant threats to silence him themselves if he didn’t stop from continuing to scream bloody murder all day long during their various experiments, because it “wasn’t conducive for focusing and making proper observations.”

Everything that Prompto had learned about his situation had pretty much been gathered when eavesdropping on conversations that he just so happened to hear because he had been in the right place at the right time, under the right circumstances.

“It’s been over a week since the boy was brought here.” Prompto could vaguely recognize Cor’s voice past the thundering sound of his heart. The man was standing right in front of him, and yet, to Prompto it sounded like he was on the complete other side of the room.

“We were told by the doc that we needed to give him time to recover before we started questioning him, which we did.” The older Lucian continued without regret. “I’d say by the looks of things, he is more than capable of answering a few questions for us now.” Where they had been so soft and muted moments before, Cor’s words were suddenly deafening.

“After all, it’s the least he can do… considering all we have put on the line by plucking him straight from the heart of Niff territory. All of this, in lieu of the many long years of peace we have and could have continued to enjoy, had things not ended in quite the fashion that they did.” Cor finished, both his expression and tone completely stone-faced, despite the obvious growing look of irritation on Noct’s own.

As if Prompto didn’t already feel enough like shit. Cor’s last comment felt no less painful than a physical sucker punch to his gut. This only served to make the blonde seriously regret having been so liberal with consuming all that delicious food Ignis had placed in front of him at dinner just now. He could feel the weight of the still half-digested food sitting heavy in his stomach and Prompto could only hope and pray that it would stay down there where it belonged.

Prompto had a sudden horrible realization as to why both Cor and the King must have been so easily swayed back in Niflheim. Of course, it couldn’t be just because Noct had asked them to, or because they sympathized with his situation. No, everything that had happened… it had happened while these men were under the assumption that they would be gaining some kind of secret advantage against the Empire.

The very truth of the matter was that yes, Prompto was under the understanding that one day he would be able to play some pivotal role in Niflheim’s downfall, but as to any of the specifics that it involved…. he had no more a clue about it than anyone else in the room.

If Prompto had thought that he would get in trouble for not meeting the king’s gaze earlier, that was absolutely nothing to the punishment and rage he would be on the receiving end of when he was finally forced to admit he didn’t know a single important piece of information on how precisely to bring upon his supposed destiny as this ‘Ascendant Dawn’ figure.

“What the hell, Cor?” A voice shouted furiously, breaking through the thick stupor Prompto had found himself practically drowning in.

“If you think for one second that I’m going to just stand here and let you talk about Prompto like he’s nothing more than some secret weapon we stole from the Niffs, you’re out of your mind.” Noct practically spat, unable to keep himself from clenching the handles of Prom’s chair as hard as he could while resisting the temptation to storm out of the room in a huff, with Prompto right alongside him.

_Oh god._ Prompto thought. _No… Noct don’t… I’m… I’m not…_ Didn’t Noct realize they had already played all the cards they had? Or was he also under the assumption that there was still something that Prompto knew other than what he had already revealed.

“Noct… I-” Prompto muttered as loudly as he could muster as he attempted to catch the attention of the raven-haired boy beside him.

“Don’t worry Prom. I won’t anyone talk to you like this, especially Cor.” Noct replied defiantly as he continued to stare down the veteran Lucian before him.

“No, that’s not-” The skinny blonde continued to protest, attempted to reach out so he could grasp Noct’s hand within his own. It partly because he needed the reassurance, and partly because he wished that Noct would stop making him seem so much more useful than he already knew he wasn’t.

Before Prompto could put up any further protest, Cor was apparently much quicker.

“Don’t be stupid, kid.” Cor came back curtly, clearly just as irritated with the young prince’s attitude as said prince was with his. “You know very well what I meant.” There was a frustrated sigh before the Marshal continued, “You definitely don’t have your father’s temperament, that’s for sure. Blowing up at every little thing that you don’t want to hear will not serve you well if you ever hope to become King of Lucis one day.”

“Yeah, well sorry I don’t like it when people are being super shitty to my friends and there’s something I can do about it.” Noct muttered softly in response, unconcerned at how Cor would respond.

“Putting your childish antics aside, your highness,” Cor continued, his expression completely unchanged and apparently unaffected by said remark. “This does not change the fact that if we wish to stand any chance of defeating the Empire, we need to start getting some concrete answers… and we need to start getting them now. We no longer have the luxury to push things off any further.”

Even without looking, Prompto could tell that Noct was scowling by the way the raven’s grasp tightened within his own, almost trembling in what Prompto hoped was more frustration than fear.

“You are welcome to stay if you’d like; but know that we are going to question the kid whether you like it or not. Don’t expect to be able to get him out of this by throwing one of your little tantrums you’ve become so accustomed to either.” Cor stated, his expression unfaltering. “And before you try to argue, know that you father has already agreed to this. Your only choices are to stay or leave, so I suggest you take a moment to think and choose wisely.”

Subconsciously, Prompto realized he must have started squeezing the other’s hand tightly at some point, because Noct quickly loosened his own grip before giving a reassuring squeeze right back and allowing his features to soften before smiling down at the incredibly tense blonde, before refocusing back on Cor.

“You’re obviously going mental if you think I’m going to leave any of you alone with Prompto. Need I remind you of the fact that nearly any time he’s been left alone with you, I’ve come back to find Prompto in full-blown panic mode?” Noct shot back towards the Marshal, who once again seemed to brush the harsh comment off to the side with little thought. “Yeah… no thanks. I learned my lesson with that thank you very much.”

“Suit yourself, kid.” Cor replied plainly, as if Noct hadn’t just completely called him out in front of Regis and the rest of the members of the Lucian council. “Just don’t forget that I won’t have any tolerance for any of your childish antics. If you start to interfere too much, you _will_ be escorted from the room.”

_Shit…_ Prompto thought frantically to himself. Who knew what the hell would happen if Cor actually followed through with that? Prompto had never stood any real semblance of a chance of defending himself when the scientists had questioned him back in Niflheim, and it sure as hell was clear that he possessed no more power here in Lucis. It was only a matter of time now before everyone realized just how useless this “advantage” of his truly was. Then, well, Prompto didn’t want to think about what would happen after that.

Mercifully, Cor started off with some surprisingly easy questions. He mostly stuck with having Prompto recap and confirm all of the information he had initially revealed to Noct back when they had first met in Gralea. Most of the questions had very straight forward answers, so Prompto didn’t have to respond with much more than a shake or nod of his head, or sometimes with simple one or two-word answers.

After Cor was satisfied with those answers, that was when things started to get rough. It was only one or two questions in when that lead weight deep in the pit of his stomach decided to reintroduce itself in full-force and Prompto found himself starting to sink back even further in his seat in a feeble attempt to relieve the unpleasant and growing pressure.

“So, let me get this straight… you are somehow supposed to possess some kind of ancient power that will allow you to topple the entire Niflheim Empire?”

“That’s what I overheard, yes.” Prompto replied softly, while Cor’s features only tightened.

“Overheard?” He quickly shot back, his eyebrows lifting and his expression morphing quickly into that of a person who had unexpectedly gotten slapped upside the head. “You mean to tell me that you have never been told this directly?”

“N-No…” Prompto barely managed to breathe out, suddenly realizing the grave mistake he had just made. There was however, another part of the blonde’s brain which also realized that there was no use lying to Cor. Prompto was fairly certain that he would be able to find out the truth one way or another. Maybe the man would be more lenient in his punishment, knowing that Prompto hadn’t chosen to lie in an attempt to save himself.

“Is there any way that we can confirm that you are in fact this “Ascendant Dawn” that you so claim to be? Or you actually telling me that we have just risked war with what has to be one of the most powerful armies on Eos for some potentially powerless and insignificant Niff kid?”

Cor was absolutely fuming, and the other Lucian council members who had been present throughout the entire questioning, now quickly proceeded to start whispering in hushed, almost hysterical tones amongst themselves.

“I… I-I… I don’t-” Prompto stuttered, lost and desperately grasping for words that just simply weren’t there.

This was it.

This was the moment that everyone would find out exactly how hopeless and useless he was, and what utter fools they had been for sacrificing so much in an attempt to help him.

Prompto should have known… he should have _known_ that everything that had been happening was too good to be true… Noct rescuing him from Gralea… promising to bring him back to Insomnia… showing him the kind of life that Prompto never knew was even remotely possible, not even in his wildest dreams.

He had known from the beginning, hadn’t he? How did he managed to fool himself into thinking that-

“Why would Niflheim go to such great lengths to erase someone so thoroughly from all existence if they weren’t 100% sure that that specific person was in fact, the very one they were looking for? It doesn’t make any sense. Surely even you can see that, _Marshal_.” Noct’s voice cut through all of Prompto’s fevered thoughts as it drew him back to the here and now.

Cor was struck still and silent, for probably the first time since they arrived. It was almost as though he was having trouble processing what he had just heard; although before he could reply, another voice filled the void that Noct’s question had previously left.

“If we are truly to wage an all-out war on Niflheim, surely his highness understands the importance of making sure that we have the proper tools at our disposal to do so, do you not?” The questioning voice did not belong to Cor, but to one of the other Lucians that had as of moments ago been deep in hushed conversation.

“My thoughts exactly!” Another man suddenly declared, the rest of the group apparently having been spurred on by the first man’s interjection. “Let’s say that we send this boy out to confront the Empire’s fearsome infantry and he is not who he says he is?! What will happen then??”

“You are all being ridiculous, there’s absolutely no reason to believe that he’s not-” Noct attempted to argue, though he was quickly cut off.

“Lucis would be practically defenseless… and Niflheim would surely lay waste to not just the Crown City, but all Lucian territories currently under our rule and protection.” The eldest of the bunch now stepping forward to join the fray, his voice loud and clear despite his apparent size and age. “All this this will surely come to pass, and for what? For this boy who isn’t even the weapon he claimed to be?”

“If you old geezers would just listen to me for two-six damned seconds… I’m telling you that’s not going to be the case!” Noct practically shouted back, refusing to allow these men to twist his and Prom’s words back around on them like they were the ones at fault in this situation.

“Noctis!” Regis now interjected, shooting a stern look in his son’s direction. “You _will_ respect the elders; even if you do not agree with what it is they have to say.”

“Oh okay, I see how it is…” Noct shot back, refusing to back down to even to his own father. “So, I can’t talk shit about them, but it’s okay for them to continue to say all this shit about Prompto? Yeah that’s _totally_ fair….”

“The council members are all within their right to voice their concerns. Especially in regards to matters that affect the safety of our kingdom.” Regis replied much more calmly, knowing that if he met Noctis’s anger with his own, it would do nothing but compound their current problem.

“It’s not just them voicing concerns though… are you even listening to the same conversation that I am?” Noct asked incredulously. “They’re talking about Prompto like he’s just some tool to be used in helping us win the war, and then discarded once he ultimately fulfills his purpose.”

“That is not what they are-”

“Yes, it is! How can you not see that?!” Noct came back, cutting his father off completely in his frustration and taking a breath before muttering, “You know what… I bet this is all cause he’s a Niff. If Prom were a Lucian, we wouldn’t even be having this conversation.”

“Noctis, that is enough…!” Regis demanded, his tone and volume making it crystal clear that he would no longer continue to entertain this pointless squabbling.

“I know that you are very close with this young man, but you cannot let your personal feelings get in the way of logic.” Regis continued, now speaking once again in his usual calm and neutral tone.

“The bottom line is that we need the information that this young man possesses and you will not always be able to shield him from anything and everything that might serve to cause him discomfort. You know as well as anyone that I do not wish to see any harm come to the boy, but that does not mean that things will always work out so easily.”

While it was clear Noct was still not remotely happy with these particular remarks, he did remain silent as he father continued.

“We are running against the clock right now and the faster we can figure out what we need to be doing to prepare, the better we stand a chance at surviving and even winning this war, you must understand that, do you not?” The king finished solemnly.

“Yeah… I do, but-” Noct started, but was silenced once again by the stern look in his father’s eyes. He knew that expression well. It was the look that always signified that their argument was finished, whether Noct wanted it to be or not.

There was still a large part of the young prince that wanted to continue arguing with his father and prove him wrong. If he did that though, there was still the very real risk that Cor _would_ escort him out of the room as he had threated to do so before, and Noct sure as hell wasn’t about to leave Prompto to fend off these men all by himself.

“So, let us try this once more, shall we?” Regis quietly hummed.

“Prompto.” he started, and at the clear mention of his name, said blonde froze, before desperately attempting to quell the storm of anxiety growing ever stronger, feeling as though it would rip apart his chest in anticipation of what was to come. “I remember hearing from somewhere that your powers as this ‘Ascendant Dawn’ are supposedly locked as of the present, is this correct?”

“Y-yes… as far as I know…” Prompto finally managed to breathe out, just loud enough so that he hoped the king could hear.

“Are you aware, or do you know of the process that one might have to follow in order to unlock these sealed abilities?” the King inquired calmly as the rest of the room went completely silent.

Prompto’s mind was a flurry of emotion. He knew very well what the answer was, but he wasn’t sure he could actually bring himself to say it. Prompto wanted more than anything to be able to provide the King with the answers that he was looking for; but the problem still remained the same as it had since they had arrived. Once the man realized Prompto had no answers and nothing more to give, then that would be all there was. The blonde knew he couldn’t possibly put this off any longer… he _had_ to say something. Despite this, it was as though his brain and mouth had stopped listening to him completely and he sat there mouthing words that refused to come.

“I… I-I don’t... I don’t know….” Prompto finally managed in a breath barely above a whisper, just waiting for the men above him to resume their hateful glares and heated whispering. “T-There’s the key… b-but I-I… It’s… I don’t know…” he started mumbling hoping that if he kept talking that they wouldn’t whisk him away immediately.

“Key?” Regis questioned, cutting in and drowning out Prompto’s soft babbling. “What key are you referring to?”

Prompto’s eyes shot up towards the older man’s in front of him, confused for a moment and unaware at first what he was asking, not even having completely realized what he had been muttering.

“It’s… um- I think it’s supposed to be… you know, the uh- catalyst to awaken the dawn’s power… or at least that was what the scientists said… I think.”

“Okay, that’s good to know, thank you. Now, can you tell me how one would obtain this key?” Regis pressed on, hopeful that he might actually be able to get some useful information from the young boy yet.

“They… they never said… they didn’t know-”

“Do you know what it looks like?”

“I-I’m not s-sure...”

“What form does it take? Do you know if it is a literal key, or more of a theoretical one?”

“I don’t know… I’m sorry, I just don’t-” Prompto responded once again, squeezing Noct’s hand harder with each defeated answer he gave.

“Fucking brilliant…” Cor practically growled from his place still behind Regis. “All that trouble, and we’re still back at square one. We still have no idea how this kid fits into any of this, or even if he actually does. We have no way to find this key that supposedly unlocks his power, so we’re no better off than we were before this whole shit-fest began.”

If the expressions of the older Lucians were anything to go by, it was only a matter of time before the entire room descended into a flurry of chaos. The present council members started to once again whispering amongst themselves, while Regis turned back to face Cor, both of their body languages and tones equal combinations of anxiety, exhaustion and frustration.

“Why was such effort put forth to secure this boy and bring him back to the Crown City, if we cannot even verify that he is what he claims to be?”

“We risked war with the Empire, just to bring back some insignificant Niflheim prisoner?”

The voices of the council members continued to grow in volume, each one like a sharp stab making Prompto feel as though his heart would rip right out of his chest.

While the council members continued arguing loudly, Noct noticed Cor and Regis turning back in their directions, after having been consumed themselves by serious discussion.

“Noctis,” Regis started, his expression grim. “There is something very important we must ask you, but before you start jumping to unrealistic conclusions, I ask that you listen and answer honestly.”

“Okay…” Noct replied cautiously, not liking where this was going.

“When we were back in Niflheim, you swore that this kid right here,” Cor now jumped in as he motioned towards Prompto, “You said he would be the key to taking down the Niffs.” Another pause, “Was that really the whole truth, or was it merely a desperate plea you cooked up to convince me to help you save your friend from a bad situation?”

Noct couldn’t believe the words coming out of the Marshal’s mouth, but when he looked over at his father’s face for confirmation that he and Cor were truly considering the idea that he had made everything up on the spot just to save Prompto, he was shocked into silence for a few moments.

“Noctis, my dear boy…” Regis started before the raven had managed to reply, his expression still frozen in shock. “You have always had such a large and caring heart, and you have never been one to abandon those that are in dire need, and for that fact alone, I will always be incredibly proud. However, this is very important. The truth of the matter is that we are no closer to fighting off the Empire right now than we were back in Gralea, so it is absolutely imperative that we know what the true circumstances are and the odds that we will face going forward.”

Ever since they had returned back to Insomnia, this had to be the first time that Noct had ever seen his father so genuinely conflicted. Was he truly considering what Noct thought he was? Was he regretting the decision that he had made to defend Prompto back at the Emperor’s Palace?

“Dad, you can’t be serious…” He muttered quietly in disbelief at first, before quickly adding. “I swear, I didn’t lie to you, and neither did Prompto….!” He finished, practically shouting now as he seemed to finally find his voice. “Everything we told you is 100% the truth. Dad… _please_ , you know I wouldn’t lie to you about something this important.”

Regis’s face following Noct’s heartfelt plea was surprisingly neutral and Prompto wasn’t sure if that was more good or bad. Before the two boys could hear the king’s response however, the conversation between the council members erupted, louder than ever before.

“This boy is the whole reason that we are at war in the first place, is he not?” The eldest member of the council spoke up once more. “If we surrender him back to the Empire as gesture of peace… surely, they would no longer seek recompense against Lucis, and maybe then we will be able to avoid the destruction of our kingdom, freedom and way of life.”

Then to Noct and Prompto’s complete and utter horror, they witnessed the other council members as they began nodding their heads in unison, muttering agreement as though they reached this epiphany all at the same time.

_Of fucking course,_ Noct couldn’t help but think. _Of course, this would be the one thing that they would actually be able to agree on…_

All eyes and attention now shifting from their own conversation over towards the council members, who had clearly decided they needed no further convincing of how to resolve this most recent dilemma.

It was like time had all but completely frozen for Prompto, his eyes wide as he witnessed and processed the words that seemed to finally and truly seal his fate at long last. There was a part of him that wanted to fight and defend himself against these men’s words, but he knew he would never stand a chance.

Even if his mind screamed for him to come up with some argument for his usefulness, his body rebelled. His arms and legs suddenly felt as though they weighed a ton each, combined with the blonde’s body not having even an ounce of strength left of which to lift them.

Just the simple task of keeping himself upright was suddenly proving an utterly exhausting task… and why did it feel like someone had cranked the heat in the room up a good ten to twenty degrees?? Prompto certainly didn’t remember the room being so warm when they first came in… in fact, he could have sworn that it had almost been on the colder side, despite the fact that he definitely felt as though he were melting now.

Seeing as he was certain he would never again be given the chance to feel such warmth again once the king sent him back off to the Empire, maybe he should take this time to savor the moment, even if it was incredibly stuffy and just all around uncomfortable. It seemed pretty well decided that despite all of Noct’s attempts, the Lucians had made their final decision.

Prompto knew that there was really nothing to be done at this point and he should just accept his fate with some modicum of dignity… but the truth of the matter was that he didn’t want to. He didn’t want to be sent back to his old life of imprisonment, having the world continue to move on as though he no longer existed.

He could feel the moisture building in his eyes and tried furiously to keep the inevitable tears from falling, although he knew a futile battle when he saw one. He didn’t want to leave to leave Lucis…  because well, leaving Lucis, ultimately meant leaving Noct.

It was stupid and selfish, but the only thing that Prompto wanted right now was to stay with the only person that had been his only companion and solace during all those years growing up beneath the Emperor’s palace. But now, even that was being taken away from him.

With things as they were between the two warring nations, it was pretty much a solid guarantee that once he was sent back to Gralea, he would never have the chance to see Noct ever again.

In the end, the most terrifying thing was that Prompto almost wished that instead of handing him back alive, the Lucians would take pity and allow him release from this life before giving whatever remained of him back to the Niffs… although that would probably defeat the purpose of the hypothetical olive branch that his surrender was supposed to represent in the first place, so there was no way that would happen.

The thoughts of all the horrible, indecent and inhumane experiments that would waiting for him back in Gralea was enough to make Prompto shudder. He could feel the stares of the scientists, the ripping and cutting on his flesh and bone, the deep rolling laughter as he lay screaming… it was all coming back so vividly.

_No_. Prompto thought to himself. _Oh six…_ _please no._

The blonde almost instantly found himself hyperaware of the shifting of the contents in his stomach, a brief moment of panic- _no… not here… not in front of everyone… fuck please no…_ this really was the least of what he needed right now. He tried to take some deep breaths of air, but at the same time feared what would happen the moment he opened his mouth.

If only he could run off and hide somewhere, even if it was just on the other side of the office doors…  but there was just no way he would have enough time or energy to physically remove himself from his current position, given his current circumstances.

“noct… I don’t-” He finally managed to gasp, eyes wide as he held onto the raven’s arm in a vice-like grip, eyes closed and brows furrowed in a futile battle to hold back the bile rising in his throat.

However, despite the blonde’s desperate attempts to save face before the King and his council, it was not even a second later that his body prevailed and Prompto found himself gagging weakly as he proceeded to throw up what looked like the entire contents of today’s lunch and dinner onto the previously spotless floor beneath him. The blonde barely noticing having gotten lucky enough to manage getting a good amount of it all over Noct’s shoes, _fuck._

Once there was nothing left in his stomach to throw up, Prompto’s body proceeded to fall completely limp, Noct’s reflexes just quick enough to catch and prevent him from falling out of his chair all together and landing in the mess of half-digested food and various other bodily fluids.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much for reading!
> 
> Comments are always appreciated. :)
> 
> Come hang with me on tumblr? ^-^ [ever-at-your-side-15](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/ever-at-your-side-15)


	13. Moving Forward

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And we're back...! xD Sorry for the delay, but for whatever reason, this chapter really didn't want to work with me. It took me quite a bit longer to write than usual, and then I have been doing nothing but crazy edits for a while. I'm still not entirely 100% happy with it, but I feel like if I don't put it up now, I'll just keep editing myself into oblivion. 
> 
> BUT on a much more AWESOME note, I'm super excited to share some super cute art goodies with everyone courtesy of the amazing Niansue on Tumblr! She drew some ADORABLE AF art to go with a few scenes from this fic, and I am STILL losing my shit about it. ^-^ 
> 
> [Super adorable Promptis cuddles ](https://niansue.tumblr.com/post/172426546216/just-a-few-minutes-longerthen-i-promise-ill-go) from last chapter, [ Noct visiting Prom in Gralea after they first met ](https://niansue.tumblr.com/post/172460048321/you-kept-our-promise-against-all-odds-by) AND [ Noct reassuring Prompto while he's recovering in Insomnia ](https://niansue.tumblr.com/post/172526899686/you-really-need-to-stop-thinking-that-youre-just) also from last chapter! :DDD 
> 
> All of their art is HELLA adorable, so I definitely recommend checking them out if you like seeing Prompto and Noct being precious and adorable dorks together...! ;D

When Prompto found himself coming to, there were a few things that quickly caught his attention.

First of all, he was pretty damn well convinced his entire body must have turned to stone or something else of the like. Not only did it feel as though his limbs weighed a thousand pounds each, but his body also apparently lacked any semblance of possessing anywhere near enough energy to complete even the simplest of tasks. Lifting even a single finger for instance, seemed to be a feat of strength that he could never hope to achieve right at this very moment in time.

Secondly, Prompto was uncomfortably mindful of a particularly horrendous taste now suddenly ever present in his mouth, though he had no idea what could have possibly happened for it to get there. He was pretty sure he would have remembered eating something with such a distinctly foul taste, and yet here it was, clear as day having no recollection of how it came to be.

The taste wasn’t even restricted to one specific section of his mouth either. It was everywhere; and made all the worse by the horrible, acrid smell which refused to cease assaulting his nostrils in full force.

The pungent taste in his mouth and smell in his nose quickly pulled the blonde back in time to when the MTs guarding his cell back in Gralea were careless and/or cruel enough to provide him with food which was already well on its way to rotting from the inside out.

Unfortunately though, that hadn’t been Prompto’s only experience with food existing far past it intended expiration date.

He didn’t like to think about it, but there had been a few times when he had been trying to ration out the bits of leftovers Noct would bring him, but unknowingly kept the food just _a little_ bit longer than he should have.

Prompto then had figure out a way to dispose of the spoiled food without anyone noticing he had it in the first place, which wasn’t nearly as easy as one would think. Since he didn’t have the luxury of simply throw the food away, his method of ‘disposal’ usually resulted in pinching his nose and forcing the food down as quickly as he could possibly stomach it and hope the food didn’t make a return trip.

The last thing Prompto realized as he was still attempting to gather his faculties, was that he could hear a loud, and very angry voice coming from somewhere very close to him. He was pretty sure it was Noct’s, but why did it sound like he was steadily becoming more and more infuriated moment by moment?

It took Prompto exactly a second longer to come to his own devastating solution. Was… was Noct was yelling at him…? Had he done something? What could it possibly have-”

_FUCK._

Before Prompto could even finish screaming various obscenities in his brain, everything that had been said and everything he had done (or maybe more appropriately… not done), came back to bite at him like a harsh slap in the face.

The questions from Cor… the follow-up questions from Regis… and then, after neither man seemed satisfied with any of it, that group of older Lucians that had been clustered next to each other had started discussing. Not just any old conversations either; they had definitely been discussing the terms of sending him back to Niflheim as a last resort to save their own skin.

A vast majority of it all was still a huge blur, but the one thing Prompto remembered vividly was feeling the waves of nausea building higher and higher as he attempted to clutch weakly at Noct’s side. He remembered fighting furiously against the bile rising in his throat until he no longer had the energy to continue to do so.

He had been completely and utterly powerless to stop the contents of his stomach being expelled so magnificently across the previously spotless floor in front of Noct…. Cor… the King… the council members… _everyone._

That _had_ to be why Noct was so angry, and Prompto didn’t blame him.

He had tried his best to keep his emotions under control and force everything to stay down through sheer willpower. Ultimately though…?

He failed.

Now it was only right for Noct to want to punish him for being so weak.

“What the hell was that all about?” Noct’s voice yelled, pulling Prompto back to the present once again, unable to stop himself from instinctively shrinking back against the venom in the other boy’s words.

“What in the world ever led you to believe that shit was a good idea???” The voice yelled once more, his fury growing with every word he spoke.

_Maybe if I apologized…_ Prompto thought submissively. _If I promise to try harder next time… maybe he’ll reconsider_ _sending me back_ …? _Yeah… not likely,_ _but it’s worth a shot at least._

Prompto tried to form the words on his lips, and yet despite his best efforts, there didn’t seem to be anything he could do to make them come. The only thing leaving his mouth being a few incoherent groans and whimpers.

“If you’re serious about sending Prom back to the Niffs, then you might as well send me right along with him…!” Noct had just finished shouting, when he was suddenly struck silent.

“Holy shit… Prom?? You with me…?” Noct asked, his voice and gaze all softening almost instantly once he felt the previously limp boy start to twist and squirm weakly within his grasp.

“-m s-ry…” Prompto finally managed to mutter brokenly.  

“I’m s-sorry…. I t-tried…” he continued to mutter, hiccupping as his tried and failed to once again hold back the tears that had been building in his eyes ever since he had realized what he had let happen.

“s-so sorry…” There was another hiccup as Prompto continued to struggle to regain some semblance of control over his emotions, “I s-swear… I d-didn’t mean to…”

It was but seconds later that the blonde could no longer find the energy within himself to keep fighting against them; not with all the overwhelming feelings of sheer frustration, embarrassment and exhaustion now washing over him like a waterfall.

“I swear… I’ll c-clean it up…” Prompto managed to moan in between the fits of choked sobs ripped from his throat, as he tried desperately to figure out a way to make it up to a now very mortified looking Noctis. “F-fuck… I’m sorry N-Noct… I’m s-so…sorry-”

“Prom…?? What in Shiva’s name are _you_ apologizing for??” Noct practically shouted in disbelief, causing the blonde to jump slightly once more.

“You’re the last person that should be apologizing right now.” The confused prince continued, utterly dumbstruck by Prompto’s unexpected outburst, “No-one’s going to blame you for getting sick… especially not with the whole shit show that was going on just now…”

Noct continued to attempt to reassure the blonde, whose upper body was still slumped up against Noct’s supportive embrace. It was a lucky gift that Noct’s reflexes had been quick enough to catch the blonde’s slight frame before he managed to fall completely out of his chair.

“B-But I-”

“I’m serious….” Noct insisted softly. “It’s not a big deal. I swear to all the astrals that no-one in here is going to judge you for something that is completely out of your control.” He finished, taking a decisive moment to glare in the direction of the other Lucians hovering around them, just daring them to challenge his statement. “And since I know you’re thinking it, you’re sure as hell not being sent back to Niflheim, so don’t even entertain the idea of such a thing in that thick skull of yours.”

Prompto still seemed unconvinced, but his continued apologies seemed to be more muted now, even if they were still streaming out of the blonde’s mouth like a broken record.

“Well, first things first,” Noct spoke as he began gathering the pliant blonde into his arms, before lifting him–   _how on Eos was Prompto still so damn light even after having been in Insomnia for what… three weeks now…?_ – and carrying him over to one of the large couches situated to the far-left of the room. They were a bit more for show than anything else, but it was better than nothing. “Let’s get you a bit more comfortable, yeah?”

A weak nod from the boy cradled in his arms was all the confirmation Noct needed as he managed to settle himself sideways on said couch so his back was supported by the tall armrest and he was able to pull Prompto closer so he was lying against his chest.

Prompto seemed perfectly content to settle his head to rest listlessly against Noct’s collarbone as all the curves of his body practically melted against the raven-haired boy, craving the warmth and comfort that the other provided.

Noct was certainly glad Prompto was able to have a chance to lie down and take some time to gather himself. Yet despite all that, Noct could still sense there was still something considerable weighing on the other’s mind, keeping him from fully being able to relax.

“Hey, Specs?” Noct asked lightly as he turned his head back in Ignis’s direction.

While there was certainly a part of Noct that was more than a little miffed Ignis hadn’t jumped in to help defend Prompto, he also realized that Iggy didn’t really know much of anything about Prompto’s situation, other than what Noct himself had disclosed. If there was one thing Noct knew for sure though, it was that Ignis greatly disliked expressing his opinions on matters he was not intimately familiar with.

“Shall I procure some water for Prompto?” Ignis asked, even though he very well knew the answer.

“Yeah, thanks Iggy.” Noct grinned. He wasn’t sure how Ignis _always_ seemed to know what he needed even before he did, but that was just yet another one of the endless reasons why the man was utterly invaluable as both an advisor and as a friend.

Ignis bowed his head respectfully before swiftly making his exit; and with his advisor gone, Noct could return his attention to the matter of continuing to help Prompto.

“Prom?” Noct asked, waiting a few seconds for some kind of sign of acknowledgment other than the sound of the blonde’s soft sniffling as he finally managed to stem the tears trailing down his face and dripping off his chin. “You still with me, buddy?”

There was the ever so slight shifting of the other’s head to confirm that he was at least still conscious, though Noct wasn’t entirely sure if that was better or worse for their current predicament.

“Iggy will be back in no time, you’ll see. Then when he does get back, you’ll be able to get that shit taste out of your mouth.” Noct hummed quietly, busying himself as he started using the sleeve of his shirt to gently wipe away any remaining traces of vomit that still clung to Prompto’s lips and mouth.

“d-don’t…” Prompto muttered near silently, as he attempted in vain to pull away from Noct’s careful hands. “… ‘m gross…”

“Like I care about that,” Noct replied plainly.

“Comon Prom… stoooop.” The raven hair boy whined, as the other refused to abate his futile resistance.

“I know you feel like shit right now, but you also know how stubborn I am, so you might as well save your energy and give up the ghost before you completely exhaust yourself for no reason.” Noct finished with a subtle, yet playful smirk on his face.

“…fine.” Prompto practically whispered as he let his head fall back yet again to rest listlessly against Noct’s chest. Even if he wanted to continue fighting against the persistent prince right now, he simply lacked the mental and/or physical fortitude to even attempt to do so right now.

Despite all the reassurances from Noct, Prompto couldn’t help but let his mind wander and start to worry about how long this would be allowed to continue.

It was pretty clear the Lucian council was still intent on following through with their original plan to send him back to Gralea. Noct said they wouldn’t, but how much actual sway would he actually have in that decision? He may be the Crown Prince, but in the end, Noct was only one person, and a long ways away from the final authority on matters like this.

There were so many emotions running rampant through Prompto’s mind right now, he felt as though his head would surely implode from how fast his mind was working.

He felt useless because he hadn’t been able to tell either Cor or the King any new and/or prevalent information about his supposed status as this ‘Ascendant Dawn.’

He felt embarrassed because he had cracked so quickly under all the pressure and made a complete and utter fool of himself.

He felt weak because he couldn’t so much as even think about Niflheim without inadvertently expunging the entire contents of his stomach on the floor.

He felt exposed and vulnerable because he was unable to do anything but allow himself to practically melt along Noct’s side. If Cor, the King, or anyone else wanted to drag him far away from Noct, Prom wouldn’t be able to do a thing to fight against it.

Most of all, however, Prompto just felt down right terrified.

After so long of living in constant denial that thing could possibly change as drastically and as suddenly as they did, he had finally started to accept this strange, new life in Lucis.

He could eat regular meals without having to strategically hoard the food, saving it for the next time his guards conveniently forgot to bring him anything.  

He could actually leave Noct’s room whenever he wanted and go outside just because he wanted to feel the soft, warm breeze on his face.

Most importantly, he could be with Noct without worry that the raven-haired boy would need to suddenly disappear for months at a time without any kind of warning of when he would have to leave or when he would be given a chance to come back.

And now…? All of that had been called in to question, just as he knew it would be when Noct had protected him from Cor that first time back in the Emperor’s Palace.

Prompto’s attention was suddenly pulled from Noct, as the King and Cor had finally started making their way over towards where the both of them were still laying up against one another.

“What do you want?” Noct quickly barked towards the two older Lucians, obviously still very bitter about the events he believed that they allowed and even to a point encouraged.

“Hey kid, it would be best if-”

“Oh no,” Noct once again spoke up, cutting off whatever it had been that Cor had been about to say.

“Don’t start acting like you know what’s best for Prompto after that shit you guys just pulled…” He continued, having no qualms in fiercely staring down the two men approaching.

“Your whole bad cop-bad cop routine is the reason that Prom got anxious enough to make himself sick in the first place…” he growled, “The absolute last thing that he needs right now is help from either of you.”

“Yeah, I get that you’re super protective of the kid,” Cor replied, his tone even and cool as ever. “But if you really wanted what was best for him, you would realize that you are not the only person capable of helping him.”

“That’s real rich coming from you…” Noct snorted derisively. “After all, you guys have been doing such a stellar job of things so far. Just look at how great he’s done since you’ve been trying to give him a fucking heart attack for the past hour…”

“Noctis…” Regis now quickly interjected. “I realize that you are not pleased with how things have played out, but know that I will not permit you to continue to show such blatant disrespect towards the Marshal.”

“I’m sorry dad,” Noct apologized, the pointed anger no longer present in his voice, and yet the feelings behind them still ever present. “But comon, you gotta admit that things got out of hand, real damn fast. The council members were being completely unreasonable-”

Before Noct finish that particular sentiment, the door to the office swung open, Ignis appearing once more, now with some bottles of water, a small bucket that looked like he had plucked it from a random supply closet and a few other smaller items that were just barely visible from above the lip of the bucket.  

“Thank Shiva, Iggy…” Noct sighed in relief as the advisor quickly approached, making sure to remove the small, plastic cap before handing the now opened bottle of water over to Noct.

“Noct, if you could have Prompto wash out his mouth with this, I also managed to secure some ginger ale for him. If he feels up to it, he should try to drink some and it will hopefully help settle his stomach.” Ignis relayed calmly.

“Forgive me for being so blunt,” Ignis continued as he started to empty all of the items from the small container in his hands, “But, is there any particular reason the excrement hasn’t been cleaned up yet? I would imagine that clearing the smell and sight of it would do wonders to help rectify our current predicament.”

“The clean-up crew should be on their way,” Cor replied plainly.

“Thanks for the heads up, Cor…” Noct muttered sarcastically, though judging by the fact that the older man did nothing to respond, he either didn’t hear, or didn’t care.

“Prom? You still with me?” Noct uttered softly as he brought his attention back to the blonde boy in his arms, hoping he hadn’t already fallen asleep, because he would be hard-pressed to rouse the blonde from his well-needed slumber.

Luckily, Noct soon felt the boy in his arms twitch slightly, lifting his head just enough so he could make eye-contact with him.

“You’re gonna need to try sit up a bit for this, okay?” There was a slight nod from the blonde, followed by more a bit more adjusting.

Once the other managed to get in a bit more of a reasonable position, Noct carefully brought the water bottle up to the other’s lips, tilting it just enough so that a small amount of the water in the bottle flowed into the blonde’s mouth.

“Swish the water around in your mouth and spit it out in here.” Ignis instructed as he held the newly emptied container underneath the blonde’s mouth, ready to catch the wash before it spilled all over the floor.

While Noct and Ignis continued to tend to Prompto, Regis turned his attention towards the uncharacteristically quiet council members, who had all remained surprisingly passive since Prompto had gotten sick. They were still murmuring amongst each other, but not with near as much spirit or heat as they had been before.

“A lot has been said, and lot has taken place here today.” The king uttered as calmly as ever. “I also believe that we have reached a point where we would find it most advantageous to place any further discussion of the matter on hold until we have had enough time to consider what our next move should be.”

“We may not have gotten as much information as we might have originally hoped for,” Regis continued, and there was no sense of judgement in his tone; he was simply acknowledging the situation as he had seen it play out before him. “Despite that however, I earnestly believe we now find ourselves in a position to be able to better prepare for the coming conflict with Niflheim.” Regis noted, now turning his attention towards Cor.

“Cor, can I trust you to look into this ‘key’ that our young guest mentioned. I can’t say for sure what you may or may not be looking for, but it seems as though this may end up being the very thing that ultimately decides or seals us to our fate.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.” Cor replied, bowing his head deeply in acknowledgement and respect for the task now set upon him by his King. “I will have the best in the Crownsguard start working on it right away.”

There was a soft knock at the door and Cor excused himself so he could direct the member of the Citadel staff to clear away the mess on the floor.

Regis, meanwhile, turned around once more to face the remaining members of the council. “While Cor is attempting to gleam any new and pertinent information on this ‘key’, I believe the best course of action we can take in the meanwhile would be to reach out to Tenebrae and see if we can make contact with the Oracle.”

“Pardon me, your majesty,” one of the council members suddenly spoke up, concern laced all over their face and through their tone, “But how can we possibly hope to make contact with the Oracle now that we are no longer on peaceful terms with Niflheim…? Surely, the empire will do their best to block us at every turn.”

“Yes,” Regis quickly replied, nodding solemnly as he did so. “That will most likely be the case.” He paused once more, choosing his words carefully as he continued, “However, if my understanding is correct, the Oracle was the very one who foretold this very prophecy. If anyone will be able to provide us with the insight we require to take full advantage of our situation, it will be her. Without her… well, I’m afraid our role in all of this will continue to elude us.”

“How do you expect to get such word to her grace, your majesty?” Another council member asked after Regis had finally gone silent, his expression pensive as he considered his answer. “I am afraid, such a task would be near impossible.”

“Perhaps,” Regis mused, remaining steadfast even light of the council’s rising concern. “But we have little left to lose at this point. I plan to discuss with Cor and Drautos about the possibility of sending a scout to attempt to make contact with the Oracle in person. While this method may be slower than would certainly be preferable, it seems as though it may be our only viable course of action as things stand right now.”

There was yet more murmuring between the council members, before Regis finally dismissed them all from the hall and brought his attention back towards his son and his advisor, who were both still crowded around the exhausted, young Niflheim boy lying as still as ever on the large, ornate couch.

“How is he doing?” Noct heard his father’s voice ask from close behind as Regis approached him.

“He only just managed to nod off.” Noct replied, making sure to keep his voice down so as not to disturb the restful sleep that Prompto had finally managed to achieve.

“Ignis helped him get down some stuff to help settle his stomach. He wasn’t too fond of the idea of falling asleep at first, but as you can tell, that didn’t last very long.” Noct couldn’t help but let out a small chuckle as he continued to comb his fingers reflexively through the slumbering blonde’s hair.

“Highness,” Ignis quickly interjected, “Pardon my interruption, but perhaps it’s about time to think about plans for relocating Prompto somewhere a bit more suitable for him to get the proper rest he requires. He has had quite the uh, _eventful_ day after all.” The astute advisor finished, pausing only slightly as he did so to make sure that he chose a fitting descriptor.

“Okay, so uh-” Noct started, looking back towards the advisor inquisitively, “How do you suggest we do this?”

“Do what exactly?”

“Well,” Noct started motioning with his heads towards the blonde now slumbering peacefully on his chest. “He JUST managed to fall asleep, and if you didn’t already notice, Prom’s an incredibly light sleeper. I’d bet my entire comic collection he’ll jump awake the moment we try to get him back in that chair, no matter how carefully we do it.”

“If you don’t wish to use the chair, then I believe the only option left at this present moment would be to carry him.” Ignis replied quite plainly. “If you aren’t feeling up to such a task, I’m sure we could always ask Cor or one of the other Crownsguard?”

“Yeah…” Noct couldn’t help but laugh bitterly, “I’m gonna go with a big fat no on that one.” The memories of the confrontations Noct had had with both the small squadron of Crownsguard and Cor still burned in his memories clear as day.

It certainly didn’t help matters that Cor had just spent practically the last hour grilling Prompto for answers he didn’t have. Noct didn’t even want to think about how Prompto would react if he happened to wake up during the walk back and realize exactly who it was that was carrying him. There was no telling what frantic conclusion his mind would come up with and how he would subsequently react.

“We’re not _that_ far away from our room and there’s no big rush anyway, so I should be find just carrying him by myself.” Noct reasoned as he attempted to re-arrange Prompto ever so slightly so he could bring Prompto’s legs across his chest and gently hoist the blonde up so he was cradled against his chest, still snoring lightly. “You mind getting the chair, Iggy?”

“Of course, highness.” Ignis nodded as he strode over towards the still vacant chair and started pushing it over towards Noct. “Do let me know if your arms start getting tired and I will be happy to switch places.”

“Thanks, but I got this.” Noct smiled, knowing that this was the least he could do to help.

“Noctis-” Regis started to say before being cut off sharply.

“What?” Noct shot back at his father, his expression and tone changing almost instantly, unable to hold back the clear frustration he felt towards his father any longer.

“I hope all that _crucial and important information_ was worth everything you just put Prompto through. It was bad enough that he was treated like some kind of experimental subject back in Niflheim… but here?? I never thought he would be forced to have to deal with the same prejudices from you and Cor of all people...” Noct paused for the briefest of moment as he attempted to catch his breath and keep his anger under control, so he didn’t accidentally startle the boy still sleeping in his arms. 

“I guess I must have been naïve to believe that he wouldn’t have to deal with the same kind of irrational judgement here in Lucis as he did in Gralea.” He concluded, fighting the temptation to continuing telling his dad and Cor exactly how he felt.

If that happened however, Noct knew it would only be a matter of time until he got caught up in all the feelings of anger and resentment he held for the Empire and what they did to Prompto. He would remember how everything and everyone in this world continuously seemed to want to prove him wrong when he had assured the blonde boy that things would be different in Lucis. It certainly seemed that Noct was just as useless in trying to keep Prompto safe and happy here in Lucis as he was back when he met the scared, scrap of a boy hidden down below the very depths of Gralea that first time.

“If you need me, I’ll be in my room looking after my best friend… trying to convince him that this whole shit fest wasn’t all his fault.” Noct shot back one last time before striding purposely towards and out the office door.

Surprisingly, in Noct’s mind at least, Regis remained silent at the inflammatory accusations his son had thrown so forcefully in his face. Ignis, who remained in the room could see how much Noct’s words were affecting the King.

“I sincerely apologize for his brash words, your Majesty.” Ignis said solemnly. “You know how wrapped up in his head Noctis can get. I can assure you that he does not truly believe the words he spoke. Things have been very tough for him to adjust to since his return from Gralea and he is understandably very frustrated. It is human nature that when people get frustrated, they lash out.”

“Yes, thank you, Ignis.” Regis replied, though his face remained quite grim. “Things have certainly not been easy for anyone these past few weeks… though if we wish to stand a chance in this coming war, we will certainly need to find a way to unite ourselves and work together to face our common enemy. If we continue to fight against one another, we will surely fall to the Empire’s unbridled strength.”

“Yes,” Ignis nodded, bowing as he did so, “I will certainly discuss such things with Noctis once he has had a chance to cool down a bit. Thank you, Your Majesty.”

* * *

 

“According to our sources inside Insomnia, things have been surprisingly quiet in the Citadel.” A voice cut through the silence of the large, nearly empty room. There wasn’t much to it, aside from a large table and a huge variety of haphazardly different sized monitors, covering the wall almost completely. Each monitor depicting different information feeds and/or various live-streams of scattered pertinent locations.

“How is it that the entire Crown City has not been consumed in the chaos of inevitable war??” Another, much more frustrated and confused voice nearly shouted. “The king and that brat of a Crown Prince arrived _weeks_ ago, and yet the city continues to move forward as though they never left…! The Citadel has been almost completely silent, not even so much as a formal announcement has broadcasted from behind its walls… but how…? How is this possible??”

“Calm yourself, young Prince.” Another voice practically crept out of the shadows, casually joining in the tense discussion. “King Regis has never been one for jumping rashly into action. I am sure he has kept quite the tight lid on things, so as not to worry his precious citizens…”

“I wasn’t asking _your_ opinion, Ardyn…” Eldrith spat, glaring hatred in his eyes as he stared down the man his father had forced upon him from the very beginning of the mission. “Correct me if I’m wrong, but wasn’t your plan to be seen and not heard?”

“My sincerest apologies… your royal highness.” Ardyn drawled out, his face shining with false penitence. “I am here purely as a resource for you, should you ever feel the need to call on me. I would of course, never wish to overstep my bounds.”

“If you really want to help, then do yourself a favor and stay out of my way.” Eldrith sneered, his frown only deepening as he continued to sift through the extensive amount of information now displayed on the monitor in front of him.

The Niflheim prince had been closely monitoring the situation in Lucis practically 24/7 ever since the small squadron he assembled arrived at the Niff stronghold they were currently held up in. The building was strategically hidden beneath the Duscaen Hills, so that the small, elite Niff team would be able to carry on with their business without garnering any unwanted attention, while also remaining a short distance from the official checkpoint separating Insomnia from the rest of the Lucian countryside.

Eldrith had been so confident. He had been so sure once they citizens of the Crown City realized everything that had unfolded while the Crown had been visiting Niflheim, that the crown would have no choice but to give up what they had stolen. After all, their supposed loving King had so readily thrown away the peace his country had enjoyed for so many years… and for what? Some insignificant science experiment that had somehow gained the favor of the equally as insufferable Lucian prince??

Eldrith waited a day… no news. He waited a _whole week_ , because surely the citadel would release some kind of statement about their newest guest by then; and yet, no matter how long he waited, there was nothing.  

Things were uncharacteristically slow and uneventful at the Citadel and Eldrith couldn’t for the life of him figure out why. Why would they choose now, of all times to remain completely and utterly silent?

Even with all the surveillance they had placed upon and around the Citadel, Eldrith struggled to confirm that their target was even in the Citadel, let alone come up with a plan to get it back.

“Do they think that if they act like nothing has changed, we will forget what they did??” Eldrith shouted once more, using all the self-control that he possessed in order to prevent himself from sending his fist through the large monitor before him.

It was obvious that waiting for an opportunity to present itself would get him no closer to regaining his father’s trust. If he wished to accomplish anything, he would have to figure out a way to jumpstart the Lucians into action… but how?

“Pardon me, _your highness_ …” Ardyn once again broke the silence that had been left after the Prince’s outburst, no-one else in the room daring to say a word in fear they would be cut down then and there.

“I believe that your original idea to invite discord amongst the Lucians certainly has merit… considering how they have made it quite clear that they do not intend to release the boy. Though, if you would permit me to do so, I could certainly provide a few… let’s say, _adjustments_ in order to maximize the plan’s efficiency. You certainly don’t want to disappoint your daddy dearest with some half-baked scheme that has a chance to fail, do you, highness?” Ardyn finished with a frustratingly smug grin on his face.

If this mission wasn’t going to make or break his entire future as Niflheim’s Crown Prince, Eldrith would have shot down the older man’s offer of help in a split second. In fact, he still hated this man with a special and deep level of spite. He was a living reminder that his father was watching him very closely and judging his every move, ready to cast him off without a moment’s notice.

The unfortunate fact of the matter however, was that Eldrith simply didn’t have the luxury of making mistakes. He knew it would be inane to refuse any and all help he could get, even if it was from someone like Ardyn and the sheer thought of working with the man made him sick to his stomach.

Even despite how much he disliked the chancellor, if it meant Eldrith would be able to work his way back into his father’s good graces, then he would just need to suck it up for the time being.

“Failure isn’t an option anymore…” Eldrith muttered under his breath, though by the lifting of the older man’s eyebrows, it was clear he had heard the sentiment anyway.

“Fine, I’ll bite.” The young prince continued, still clearly unenthused by having to even entertain the older man’s suggestion. “What _adjustments_ did you have in mind?”

“I’m so glad you asked, my dearest prince,” Ardyn replied, his voice as soft as silk. “I believe I have just the idea that will provide you with everything you desire and more… starting with getting your revenge on the young Lucian prince who crossed you back in Gralea.”

“Now, you’re speaking my language…. I certainly won’t argue with something like that.” Eldrith replied, the smallest hint of satisfaction now rather evident in his voice. “Where do we start?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much for reading!
> 
> Comments are always appreciated. :)
> 
> Come hang with me on tumblr? ^-^ [ever-at-your-side-15](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/ever-at-your-side-15)

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you very much for reading!


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